M Ward surprised fans with an instant release yesterday, to coincide a North American tour which kicked off in Philadelphia. What A Wonderful Industry is the lauded singer/songwriter’s follow up to 2016’s acclaimed More Rain.
Ward, whose last album release was Christmas Party with his She & Him cohort Zooey Deschanel, says of What A Wonderful Industry: “This is a record inspired by people in the industry I have known – heroes and villains in equal measure. There’s some beautiful moments when you travel for a living, and I’m grateful for being part of an industry that’s taken me around the world so many times – but you quickly learn there’s a perfectly imperfect balance of cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals in the zoo. This record visits the most memorable characters. There’s a lot of very inspirational people I’ve had the pleasure to work with but there are also a few I wish I’d never met. It all tragically ends with an imaginary Griffin Mill-inspired murder ballad.”
The album was recorded in Portland, Oregon, and produced by M. Ward. Engineered by Mike Coykendall and Adam Selzer. It was mixed by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Cass McCombs). Ward’s friend, and Monsters Of Folk musical compadre, Jim James is featured on two tracks, “Miracle Man” and “Bobby”.
Says Ward, “This album is a reminder to keep your friends close, your enemies closer and don’t let the ones that just need an extra couple hours of therapy bring you down. Anyway I hope you like it. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
M Ward is currently on tour and can be seen around the country, including at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park on June 13, the 9:30 Club in DC on June 16th and two nights at McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheatre in his adopted hometown of Portland, OR on June 22 and 23. (All dates below)
June 9 – Burlington, VT – The Green at Shelburne Museum *
June 10 – Portland, ME – State Theatre *
June 12 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theatre *
June 13 – Brooklyn, NY – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival *
June 15 – Bethlehem, PA – MusikFest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center
June 16 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
June 18 – Calgary, AB – Bella Concert Hall
June 20 – Vancouver, BC – The Imperial
June 21 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre *
June 22 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheatre *
June 23 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheatre *
July 1 – San Francisco, CA – Stern Grove Festival #
July 8 – Quebec City, QC – Festival d’été de Québec !
July 10 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest ^
July 11 – Toronto, ON – Mod Club
July 13 – Ithaca, NY – The Haunt
July 14 – Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theatre
July 15 – Portsmouth, NH – Prescott Park Arts Festival
*supporting The Decemberists
# w/ Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
! w/ Shawn Mendes, The War on Drugs, Frank Turner and more
^ w/ Foo Fighters, Greta Van Fleet and more