After a long stint recording and performing as part of bands Monsters Of Folk and She & Him, it seems M.Ward is about to return to performing solo with his new album and tour, according to an interview he gave to HitFix.
Ward revealed that he is currently working on the follow-up to his 2009 album Hold Time, and has plans for a bunch of live dates that will see him performing in a stripped-down setting with just his guitar for company.
The Portland-based singer-songwriter intends to record the new LP at home. He said, “I’m going back to what it was when I first started performing, writing and recording by myself. Since then, I’ve been getting some great invitations to play with other people, following this path. It’s a luxury to not have to just be performing with other people to have my music heard… I have a giant backlog of songs that… I really haven’t had time to revisit or improve upon. It’s time to finish writing those songs.”
He also admitted he would “love” to work more with Zooey Deschanel in She & Him and with Conor Oberst and Jim James as part of Monsters Of Folk.
Ward is about to embark on a busy period of touring, playing three solo dates marking the opening of the Crystal Ballroom Hotel in Portland, followed by an extensive tour of Europe including an appearance at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival. He then returns for more US dates in July, including more festival appearances.
