Tag: Folk

She & Him have old soul sound

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel have created yet another timeless collection of pop songs on She & Him “Volume 3,” released Tuesday, May 7. The retro sound is as authentic as it was on their […]

Iron and Wine still solid on latest album

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/images/stories/00-downbeach/Shaun_Notes-Logo.jpg “Ghost on Ghost” released Tuesday, April 16 is the fifth and absolutely best Iron and Wine album to date. Singer-songwriter Samuel Beam, performing under the moniker Iron and Wine, has progressed as a songwriter […]

Nothing childish about ‘Kid Face’

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/images/stories/00-downbeach/Shaun_Notes-Logo.jpg Samantha Crain exhibits  youthful innocence and mature songwriting on her fifth album, “Kid Face,” released Tuesday, Feb. 19 on Ramseur Records. A skilled guitarist like Joni Mitchell with the unfiltered expression of Regina Spektor; […]

My soundtrack for the weekend is “A Wasteland Companion”

By SHAUN SMITH
Blogger-in-chief

M. Ward will not disappoint fans of his stripped down, reel-to-reel sound on his latest album A Wasteland Companion.

Ward (Matt Ward) has obviously been influenced by his musical relationship with Zooey Deschanel and it shows on the upbeat piano-laded “Beautiful Girl,” which stands not as a detachment of his signature style but an expansion of his talented reach. Fans of the doe-eyed hipster wonder will enjoy her standing beside Ward on “Sweetheart” and “Me and My Shadow.” Recording with Ward on this record makes her Patsy Cline style and hand claps sound authentic rather than retro.