M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent - VINYL LP

As Surrealist, the revamped unit continued to refine their core style, entering Signature Sound Studios in Fond du Lac, WI from June to October of 1992 to record their lone outing, Playing God, consisting of 33 minutes of technical, progressive, thrash-leaning metal. Unfortunately, despite the obvious quality of the quintet's songwriting and musicianship, the band's continued struggles to gain tag interest coupled with dwindling venues to support live performances led them to run out of steam prior to achieving the wider recognition they so deserved. Finally, three decades later, Divebomb Records is excited to shed new light on Surrealist and Playing God through an expanded CD reissue that also includes MASSAKIST's final demo, Of All That is Seen... and Unseen, as a bonus-totaling 14 tracks of high-quality output for fans of FATES WARNING, NEVERMORE, WATCHTOWER, etc. Fully remastered and restored by Jamie King Audio, the disc comes housed alongside a 20-page booklet filled with photos, flyers, ephemera, lyrics, and an extensive new interview with the band. For the fans, by the fans! Album Tracks 1. False Illumination 2. Voices Broken 3. A Time of Sighs 4. Acapella Diablo 5. Liquid Destiny 6. Shiny Thing 7. Dr. Kevorkian 8. Entropic Surreality 9. Sea Life 10. Dreams of An End 11. Of All That Is Seen 12. Darkly the Turn 13. Triskaidekaphobia 14. The Storyteller

M. Ward describes Transistor Radio as a collection of songs about childhood memories of a utopian radio power...and dedicates the album to the last of the remaining independent radio stations. Ward's distinctly weathered voice and intricate guitar playing are helped along with an impressive group of guests including Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) and Jordan Hudson (The Thermals).180-gram vinyl with four additional tracks, as the December installment in the Merge25 reissue series. Album Tracks 1. You Still Believe In Me 2. One Life Away 3. Sweethearts On Parade 4. Hi-Fi 5. Fuel For Fire 6. Four Hours In Washington 7. Regeneration No. 1 8. Big Boat 1. Paul's Song 2. Radio Campaign 3. Here Comes The Sun Again 4. Deep Dark Well 5. Oh Take Me Back 6. I'll Be Yr Bird 7. Lullaby + Exile 8. Well-Tempered Clavier

Several times, as I listened to M. Ward's Supernatural Thing, I asked myself what year it was. Was it 1952, and was I listening to a track from the Harry Smith Anthology? Was it 1972, and was I eavesdropping on the recording session for After the Gold Rush?No, it's 2023, and M. Ward is one of the special contemporary artists who invite such questions. Ward has clearly mastered the whole vocabulary of American popular music and made serious decisions about how to employ it for his own ends. What Ward shares with Harry Smith's artists and Neil Young is a context of musical and human values authenticity and intimacy. Supernatural Thing's original songs sound freshly pulled from the ground, with a little earth sticking to them. Ward's lyric delivery has that slight rawness the ear loves, and his voice has quiet dignity and great tenderness. Supernatural Thing is an open-hearted, inviting album.The album's guest stars - First Aid Kit, Shovels & Rope, Scott McMicken, Neko Case, Jim James, others - enliven the album with surprises. On Too Young to Die,Inch the women's voices in First Aid Kit spread a light frosting over the melody, and their Beach Boys-like chorus on InchEngine 5Inch makes the song sound like an instant hit. Eight of the album's ten songs are Ward originals. There's an unusual Bowie choice, InchI Can't Give Everything AwayInch from Blackstar, and a live rendition of Daniel Johnston's InchStory of an Artist.Inch-By James CushingBoth as a solo artist and as one-half of She & Him, M. Ward became one of the defining voices of the American indie landscape in the 2000s, earning fans and critical acclaim for his distinctive brand of breezy West Coast Americana which pulled from folk, country, blues, pop, and experimental indie rock elements. Ward established himself with warm, analog-minded releases like 2003's Transfiguration of Vincent and 2006's Post-War before