Artist

M. Ward

US singer‐songwriter and guitarist; member of She & Him

Newbury Park, United States • b. 1973

M. Ward is a musician from Newbury Park, United States, active since 1973. Their discography on Gatefold includes 14 records.

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Albums tracked

In collections

1973

Since

Biography

Matthew Stephen Ward (b 4th October 1973, Newbury Park, California), known by his stage name M. Ward, is a U.S. singer-songwriter and guitarist who rose to prominence in the Portland, Oregon music scene. In addition to his solo work, he is known as a member of She & Him and Monsters of Folk. Ward was previously with the band Rodriguez, which included bassist Kyle Field (of Little Wings fame) and drummer Mike Funk. They recorded and released on cassette Box Plots and Cash Crops and then the album Swing Like a Metronome in 2000.

The Arc of M. Ward

The pivots — what forced M. Ward to reinvent.

The Four-Track Lo-Fi Years
Before anyone cared about his solo work, Ward was recording on a Tascam four-track in his Portland apartment, chasing the ghost of old blues 78s. *Duet for Guitars #2* and *End of Amnesia* are exercises in extreme sonic limitation where the tape hiss functions as an extra instrument. He wasn't trying to make clean folk records. He was trying to make something that sounded like a transmission from a lost era, using heavy room reverb and cheap microphones to mask the digital reality of the turn of the millennium.
The Merge Breakthrough
Signing to Merge Records for 2003's *Transfiguration of Vincent* changed the scale of his sound without losing the dirt under his fingernails. This record, along with *Transistor Radio*, saw Ward expanding his sonic palette with piano, horns, and weird studio collages. He moved from bedroom isolation to actual studios, capturing a specific brand of American gothic pop. You can hear the transition clearly on his cover of Bowie's 'Let's Dance,' turning a stadium pop hit into a skeletal, haunting acoustic dirge.
The Collaborative Boom
By the late 2000s, Ward went from a solo indie darling to a major collaborative force, forming She & Him with Zooey Deschanel and joining the indie supergroup Monsters of Folk. *Hold Time* in 2009 represents the peak of this big-budget, lush era, loaded with string sections and layered backing vocals. The raw, solitary songwriter was replaced by a retro-pop auteur. While the production got incredibly clean, his signature fingerpicking style remained the central anchor holding the grand arrangements together.

Influences

John Fahey — Ward has repeatedly cited Fahey as his biggest guitar influence, even covering 'Bean Vine Blues #2.' You hear this in Ward's steady, alternating thumb-bass patterns and his willingness to let instrumental tracks breathe without vocals. It's the steel-string American Primitive fingerpicking style stripped of all academic pretense.
Howlin' Wolf — Ward famously covered 'I'm Going Home' and has pointed to Chester Burnett's raw grit as a major influence on his vocal delivery. You hear it in the way Ward gravels up his throat on faster tracks like 'To Go Home.' It is the sound of Chess Records grit translated to a soft-spoken indie singer.
Daniel Johnston — Ward was a huge champion of Johnston, covering 'Story of an Artist' on *Transfiguration of Vincent* and helping produce Johnston's late-career work. This connection explains Ward's love for damaged, fragile home recordings. You hear that same heart-on-sleeve vulnerability in his early songwriting.
Brian Wilson — Ward has explicitly noted Wilson's mid-60s studio arrangements as the blueprint for his later, more expansive work. You hear this heavy *Pet Sounds* influence all over the lush vocal harmonies of the She & Him records and the layered pop arrangements of *Hold Time*. It's a devotion to the art of the studio as an instrument.
Blind Willie Johnson — Ward's slide guitar work is directly modeled on the haunting, vocal-like slide playing of early bluesmen, specifically Johnson. You hear this on instrumental tracks like 'Duet for Guitars #2,' where his slide mimics the cadence of a human voice. It is a direct line back to the rawest form of gospel-blues.