More Rain

{{Infobox album

| name = More Rain

| type = studio

| artist = M. Ward

| cover = MoreRainCover.jpg

| alt =

| released = {{Start date|2016|3|4}}

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Americana, indie folk

| length = {{Duration|m=37|s=14}}

| label = Merge

| producer =

| prev_title = A Wasteland Companion

| prev_year = 2012

| next_title = What a Wonderful Industry

| next_year = 2018

}}

More Rain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter M. Ward. The album was released on March 4, 2016, on Merge Records and Bella Union. More Rain is Ward's first solo album since 2012's A Wasteland Companion, having released Volume Three and Classics with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him in the interim as well as recording and producing other artists.

Background

Ward began working on More Rain in 2012, initially experimenting with layering his own vocals to create a doo-wop record. After collaborating with other artists on the record like Peter Buck, k.d. lang, and Neko Case, the sound of the album went in a different direction, described as "true gotta-stay-indoors, rainy-season record that looks upwards through the weather while reflecting on his past."{{Cite web

| url = http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/12/m-ward-announces-new-album-more-rain-shares-girl-from-conejo-valley-listen/

| title = M. Ward announces new album, More Rain, shares "Girl From Conejo Valley" — listen

| website = Consequence of Sound

| language = en-US

| access-date = 2016-02-24

}}

Critical reception

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = Exclaim!

|rev1score = 7/10{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/m_ward-more_rain | title=M. Ward - More Rain | publisher=Exclaim! | date=March 2, 2016 | accessdate=March 18, 2016 | author=Mullin, Kyle}}

|rev2 = Pitchfork

|rev2score = 5.9/10{{cite web

| url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21644-more-rain

| title=M. Ward: More Rain

| publisher=Pitchfork

| date=March 11, 2016

| accessdate=April 11, 2016

| author= Hussey, Allison

}}

More Rain received a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on eleven critical reviews, by review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{Cite web

| url = http://www.metacritic.com/music/more-rain/m-ward

| title = More Rain by M. Ward

| website = Metacritic

| access-date = 2016-03-01

}} A review in the April 2016 issue of Uncut said, "The lack of ironic twists is both slightly unsettling and hugely refreshing,"{{Cite journal

| last =

| first =

| date = April 2016

| title = Album Review

| url =

| journal = Uncut

| page = 83

| doi =

| pmid =

| access-date =

}} and David Harvey of Record Collector called the album "a dreamy deluge".{{Cite web

| url = http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/rain-2

| title = More Rain - Record Collector Magazine

| website = recordcollectormag.com

| access-date = 2016-03-01

}} Andrew Gordon of The Skinny said the album is "decisively easygoing", after saying, "If you're scanning these pages for a record your granny might be into, this is the one."{{Cite web

| url = http://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/m-ward-more-rain

| title = M. Ward: More Rain - New album review - The Skinny

| website = www.theskinny.co.uk

| access-date = 2016-03-01

}} Dean Van Nguyen of Consequence of Sound gave the album a D+, or a 33 out of 100 according to Metacritic, stating that, "All the expected points have been hit on More Rain, but the record comes off as slack and slapdash."{{Cite web|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/album-review-m-ward-more-rain/|title=Album Review: M. Ward – More Rain|website=Consequence of Sound|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-02}}

Track listing

All songs written by M. Ward except "You're So Good to Me" written by Brian Wilson

{{Track listing

|title1 = More Rain

|length1 = 1:01

|title2 = Pirate Dial

|length2 = 2:46

|title3 = Time Won't Wait

|length3 = 2:49

|title4 = Confession

|length4 = 3:14

|title5 = I'm Listening (Child's Theme)

|length5 = 3:11

|title6 = Girl from Conejo Valley

|length6 = 3:35

|title7 = Slow Driving Man

|length7 = 4:24

|title8 = You're So Good to Me

|length8 = 3:04

|title9 = Temptation

|length9 = 2:50

|title10 = Phenomenon

|length10 = 3:10

|title11 = Little Baby

|length11 = 3:32

|title12 = I'm Going Higher

|length12 = 3:38

|total_length = 37:14

}}

Personnel

M. Ward – vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards
Mike Coykendall – bass, guitar, percussion
Joey Spampinato – bass
Mark Powers – drums, percussion
Scott McPherson – drums, percussion
Mike Mogis – mandolin, pedal steel, Moog synthesizer
Nathaniel Walcott – flugelhorn
Paul Brainard – pedal steel, trumpet
Peter Buck – guitar, mandolin
Scott McCaughey – bass, guitar, organ
Susan Sanchez – backing vocals
The Secret Sisters – backing vocals
k.d. lang – backing vocals
Neko Case – backing vocals{{cite web|title=More Rain - M. Ward|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/more-rain-mw0002899284/credits|website=AllMusic|accessdate=11 February 2017}}

Charts

scope="col"\| Chart (2016) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
{{album chart\|Flanders\|59\|artist=M. Ward\|album=More Rain\|rowheader=true\|accessdate=March 12, 2016}}
{{album chart\|Wallonia\|174\|artist=M. Ward\|album=More Rain\|rowheader=true\|accessdate=March 12, 2016}}
{{album chart\|Billboard200\|128\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true\|accessdate=March 15, 2016}}
{{album chart\|BillboardAlternative\|13\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}
{{album chart\|BillboardFolk\|4\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}
{{album chart\|BillboardIndependent\|7\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}
{{album chart\|BillboardRock\|16\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}
{{album chart\|BillboardTastemaker\|7\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}
{{album chart\|BillboardVinyl\|14\|artist=M. Ward\|rowheader=true}}

References

External links

M. Ward's official homepage
[https://www.mergerecords.com/more-rain More Rain on Merge Records]

Category:M. Ward albums

Category:2016 albums