M. Ward Examines Modern Warfare On New Album

Singer/songwriter M. Ward has jumped forward in time to find a theme for his fifth album, Post-War, which will be released on Aug. 22 by Merge Records.

Ward is hoping to follow up on the success of his 2004 release, Transistor Radio, in which he examined the role of radio and American music before World War II. Post-War will move to the present and focus on the human toll of warfare in the modern age.

Ward told Billboard.com that two pieces of post-war literature helped inspire some of the themes on the new record, especially in light of the ongoing fighting in Iraq: Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five.

"Something that I think about is what is going to happen in the country once these soldiers come home," he said. "What happens to these families that have been broken up? I like the way these kind of novels had addressed the 'coming home.'"

The album includes a cover of eclectic artist/songwriter Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home."

Post-War will be Ward's first full band album. It will feature percussionists Rachel Blumberg (formerly of the Decemberists) and Jordan Hudson (formerly of the Thermals), as well as appearances from songstress Neko Case, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James and multi-instrumentalist Mike Coykendall. The album was co-produced by Ward, Adam Selzer and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes).

Ward is planning a European tour for August and a U.S. tour beginning in September.

Here's the track list for Post-War:

"Poison Cup"
"To Go Home"
"Right In The Head"
"Post-War"
"Requiem"
"Chinese Translation"
"Eyes On The Prize"
"Magic Trick"
"Neptune's Net"
"Rollercoaster"
"Today's Undertaking"
"Afterward/Rag"