More Rain

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.

More Rain
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 4, 2016 (2016-03-04)
GenreAmericana, indie folk
Length37:14
LabelMerge
M. Ward chronology
A Wasteland Companion
(2012)
More Rain
(2016)
What a Wonderful Industry
(2018)

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.”[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!7/10[2]
Pitchfork5.9/10[3]

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."[4] A review in the April 2016 issue of Uncut said, "The lack of ironic twists is both slightly unsettling and hugely refreshing,"[5] and David Harvey of Record Collector called the album "a dreamy deluge."[6] 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."[7] 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."[8]

Track listing

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

No.TitleLength
1."More Rain"1:01
2."Pirate Dial"2:46
3."Time Won't Wait"2:49
4."Confession"3:14
5."I'm Listening (Child's Theme)"3:11
6."Girl from Conejo Valley"3:35
7."Slow Driving Man"4:24
8."You're So Good to Me"3:04
9."Temptation"2:50
10."Phenomenon"3:10
11."Little Baby"3:32
12."I'm Going Higher"3:38
Total length:37:14

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 174
US Billboard 200[12] 128
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[13] 13
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[14] 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[15] 7
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 16
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[17] 7
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[18] 14

References

  1. "M. Ward announces new album, More Rain, shares "Girl From Conejo Valley" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  2. Mullin, Kyle (March 2, 2016). "M. Ward - More Rain". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  3. Hussey, Allison (March 11, 2016). "M. Ward: More Rain". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. "More Rain by M. Ward". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  5. "Album Review". Uncut: 83. April 2016.
  6. "More Rain - Record Collector Magazine". recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  7. "M. Ward: More Rain - New album review - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  8. "Album Review: M. Ward – More Rain". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  9. "More Rain - M. Ward". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  10. "Ultratop.be – M. Ward – More Rain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  11. "Ultratop.be – M. Ward – More Rain" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  12. "M. Ward Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  13. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  14. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
  15. "M. Ward Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  16. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  17. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
  18. "M. Ward Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard.
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