M. Ward

Since the early years of the 2000s, M. Ward has stood out as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose singular presence has defined a corner of the American indie scene. Solo work from the artist draws on longstanding folk, country, jazz, and blues traditions while folding in experimental indie rock leanings and an ear for light, melodic pop. A core member of the Merge Records lineup, he built his reputation through the warmly recorded, analog-focused Transfiguration of Vincent in 2003 and Post-War in 2006, then launched the indie pop duo She & Him alongside singer and actress Zooey Deschanel in 2008. Over the following ten years he divided his efforts among several outlets, issuing a 2009 album as part of the indie supergroup Monsters of Folk, multiple well-received She & Him projects including the Columbia-released Classics in 2014, and solo efforts that earned praise such as 2012’s A Wasteland Companion and the pointed 2018 industry critique What a Wonderful Industry. After moving to the ANTI- roster, he opened the new decade with the atmospheric Migration Stories, then delivered the dreamy, guest-filled Supernatural Thing in 2023, which included contributions from Neko Case and First Aid Kit.

Matt Ward grew up in Glendale, California, absorbing gospel, country, and jazz alongside personal discoveries that stretched from John Fahey to Sonic Youth. While attending college in San Luis Obispo during the late ’90s, he started the indie folk-rock trio Rodriguez, whose only release, the 1999 album Swing Like a Metronome produced by Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, previewed the blend of American roots, pop forms, and experimental rock that would mark his later style. Also in 1999 he introduced himself as M. Ward with the self-released Duet for Guitars #2, a spare, largely live recording made in his newly adopted Portland, Oregon, home by Adam Seltzer of Norfolk & Western. Howe Gelb’s Ow Om label reissued the album the next year, with a subsequent Merge Records edition appearing in 2007.

By 2001, with Rodriguez behind him, Ward returned to solo work via the understated studio album End of Amnesia on Future Farmer and the self-released live set Live Music & The Voice of Strangers. Wider notice arrived with his third album, 2003’s Transfiguration of Vincent, his first Merge release and a step toward broader recognition thanks to its slightly richer arrangements. The follow-ups Transistor Radio in 2005 and Post-War in 2006 further cemented his standing in the mid-2000s indie landscape, the latter notable as his initial full-band effort with Neko Case, Jim James, and Howe Gelb among the participants. His reading of Daniel Johnston’s “To Go Home,” first heard on Post-War, later anchored a four-song EP. After touring as an opener and occasional collaborator with Norah Jones, Ward encountered Zooey Deschanel while scoring the 2007 film The Go-Getter; their duet of Richard & Linda Thompson’s “When I Get to the Border” for the end credits sparked the formation of She & Him, a vehicle centered on Deschanel’s songwriting. With Ward handling production and arrangements, the duo released Volume One in 2008 to strong reviews for its updated vintage-pop approach. Back on his own, he issued the stylistically broad Hold Time in 2009, again featuring Deschanel along with Lucinda Williams and Jason Lytle; the added visibility from She & Him propelled the album to the top of Billboard’s Independent Albums chart and a solid placement on the Top 200. That same year the long-gestating indie supergroup Monsters of Folk, comprising Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James, and Mike Mogis, debuted with a self-titled Rough Trade album.

She & Him reconvened in 2010 for Volume Two, extensive U.S. and European touring, and appearances at Bonnaroo, Coachella, South by Southwest, and the Matt Groening-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties in England. The duo followed with the successful holiday collection A Very She & Him Christmas in September 2011, which reached number 12 on the Top 200 and number two on the Top Holiday Albums chart. Ward recorded his seventh studio album, A Wasteland Companion, across eight studios in the U.S. and U.K., issuing it in 2012 and achieving his highest U.S. chart position to date at number 21. Subsequent years centered once more on She & Him with the mostly original Volume Three in 2013 and the fully orchestrated Classics in 2014 for Columbia. He returned to solo activity in 2016 with More Rain, an introspective yet upbeat set that included k.d. lang, Peter Buck, and Neko Case, while She & Him offered their second holiday album, Christmas Party. Ward self-released the ninth solo album, What a Wonderful Industry, in June 2018 with minimal advance notice, delivering a candid assessment of the music business’s pitfalls. He channeled two years of dispiriting headlines into character-driven songs for Migration Stories, his debut on ANTI- Records, released in April 2020; later that December he issued the covers collection Think of Spring, a home-recorded set of Billie Holiday material. In July 2022 he and Deschanel paid tribute to a shared influence with She & Him’s Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson. Ward’s next solo release arrived the following year. Framed as a loose continuation of the 2005 album Transistor Radio, Supernatural Thing from 2023 adopted a comparable ethereal, retro-tinged production aesthetic and featured First Aid Kit, Shovels & Rope, Jim James, and Neko Case.