Duet for Guitars

M. WARDDUET FOR GUITARS #2 (REISSUE)

Picture a young, scruffy-faced man with threadbare clothes, moppy hair, an acoustic guitar and no real life obligations. He’s not yet buckled down by family or debt and he rarely sleeps, for fear that he might “lose his edge.” This may or may not be an accurate portrait of M. Ward’s lifestyle when he recorded his recently reissued debut album, Duet For Guitars #2 in 1999; either way, it’s a nice, romanticized fantasy for youth, and that’s just what Duet For Guitars #2 is, a vague sketch of youth.

While writing and recording the 12 original tracks on Duet, Ward was roadsteady, traveling back and forth between his then home of Chicago and Seattle – two very different, equally-artistic cities. The document here is a youthful (though entirely mature) snapshot of the artistically budding 20-something life of a wandering artist. Ward, clearly raised with roots music on his mind, has of late become a more politically-minded, socially aware artist than he was in his early days (most specifically on his 2006 album, Post-War). And while Duet is focused on simple life pleasures, both albums observe society equally with an underlying optimistic world view. Both albums, in very different ways, resonate a feeling of hopefulness and exploration.

More instantly accessible than Ward’s recent albums, Duet stands aside Iron & Wine’s The Creek Drank the Cradle as the best debut amongst the post-Nick Drake whisper movement. Opening with a brief guitar duet aptly titled “Duet For Guitars #2,” Ward’s debut record wastes no time, jumping thereafter into two of the album’s best songs, “Beautiful Car” and “Fishing Boat Song.” “Beautiful Car” documents a young boy working for his dad and eventually finding a whole new world (via a newfound independence) after getting his first car - “A baby blue ‘52 Roadstar,” sings Ward. While the AM radio-friendly music behind “Beautiful Car” wont surprise anyone familiar with Ward’s recent work, “Fishing Boat Song” is much more of a typical late-90s indie rock song than most of Ward’s better known work. It’s fully-baked and catchy, and Ward rides this rare wave of pure accessibility better than you’d think. It rolls and rocks in a mellow fashion, almost as if it were a long lost song from Sebadoh’s Harmacy, if you can believe it.

Other standouts include the upbeat “Look Me Over,” the gracefully written “It Won’t Happen Twice” and the Devendra Banhart-esque “Song From Debby’s Stairs,” which sees Ward changing up the mood a bit, offering an at-first-awkward song that manages to fit well with the rest of the album, which is almost consistent to a fault. Also included with the original 12 songs (a few of which are short instrumentals) are three bonus tracks not available on the original version of Duet. While the two of the bonus tracks don’t quite meet the quality of the album’s original set, one song, “Were You There?,” is as good as any, and should hopefully get some of the downloaders and early fans to pick up this new package, offered by the wonderful Merge Records imprint.

Not just a glimpse at one of today’s best songwriters at his primitive foundation, but a nearly lost, breathtaking debut album that until now has only been heard by the few thousand people lucky enough to find original pressings. Duet For Guitars #2 sits with poise next to Ward’s other, totally worthwhile albums, perfectly connecting some of the dots concerning a man that most of today’s best songwriters - Bright Eyes, Jim James, Jenny Lewis, to name a few - are publicly in awe of.   8/10

Written by G. William Locke