M. Ward For Beginners: The Best Of M. Ward

For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward is a collection for M. Ward fans of anyvintage. Gathering together 14 tracks from across his Merge Recordsdiscography, including the newly recorded song "Cry," For Beginners is botha primer and a mixtape of favorites sequenced in a way that gives them newlife.Beginning with "Chinese Translation" and "Poison Cup" from 2006's Post-War, For Beginners drops in on Ward as he expands his prowess in the studio.His singular cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance," from 2003'sTransfiguration of Vincent, breaks out into the exuberant "Never HadNobody Like You" from 2009's Hold Time. Rather than the neat evolutionaryline suggested by a chronological arrangement, what holds For Beginnerstogether is Ward's impeccable skill as a songwriter, which remains in focusas his sound expands from low-fi home recordings to electric, radio-readystompers.Serendipitously timed for release during Merge Records' 35-year anniversary,this celebration of one of the label's most beloved artists includes "Cry"_his first new recording on Merge since 2018_a stripped-down cover of theGodley & Creme pop classic featuring Melbourne, Australia's Folk BitchTrio.M. Ward on "Cry":"Cry" was recorded in a Tasmanian modern art museum called MONA. I sat at theend of a long hallway a few feet away from Anselm Kiefer's sculpture of a 20-foot-highstack of lead books, and standing to my left and right around a single microphone wereMelbourne's Folk Bitch Trio; we rehearsed and recorded "Cry" in about 30 minutes. Apleasure to add this song to a collection of some of my favorite memories of music-makingduring the first decade of record-creating with my friends at Merge.The song is the perfect capstone for a collection of this nature, summing upmuch of Ward's power as a musician: the richness he's capable ofachieving in sparse recordings, his knack for collaboration, and his abilityto see through to the soul of a meticulously crafted pop song_as mucha means of looking forw...