M. Ward Keeps 'Em Rapt

I have a pet peeve (among many) in music writing when it comes to singer-songwriters. All too often, every time a troubadour with a guitar and a halfway distinctive voice becomes popular, some scribe inevitably pulls the "next Bob Dylan" tag out of their bag o' cliches. It's patently ridiculous for two reasons. First, there will never be another Dylan. Second, none of the candidates on the list are ever remotely worthy of being lumped in the same area code as one of the greatest songwriters in history. Nevertheless, that analogy has been thrown around with M. Ward on countless occasions, and it seems to be sticking since he's the most artistically viable solo singer-songwriter of the bunch, and his voice and guitar technique are miles ahead of the game. Now that people are paying attention, Ward's challenge is to prove that he doesn't belong with the also-rans who litter the Dylan-wannabe minefield.

Before the rising solo star took to the Mod Club stage on Saturday, Toronto's The Hylozoists pulled off a tour de force performance as the sold-out crowd piled into the room. Having seen the group in the Silver Dollar and Horseshoe, it was nice to see them play in a room big enough to handle their lush instrumental pop sound. Playing much of their La Fin Du Monde debut, the songs didn't feature much in the way of spontaneity, but what they lacked in that department they made up for in extremely skilled musicianship. They've also ditched the all-white motif (all yours, Islands/Small Sins), and the lack of gimmickry has obviously made the band work even harder to gain the audience's attention and respect. This was a stellar opening set, and Paul Aucoin's collective deserve bigger and better things in '07.

After nearly an hour-long break, Ward shuffled on stage and performed an instrumental track that received the requisite cheers every time he strummed loud or fast. Playing exclusively in little lighting for most of the set, he pulled out a number of tunes from his acclaimed '06 release, Post War, and it's '05 predecessor. Transistor Radio. Performing at a relatively low volume — considering the size of the Mod Club — Ward kept even the back of the room quiet throughout his 70-minute set. Each song was punctuated by wild applause from the audience, who made it clear they were devout followers of the ball cap-wearing Merge signee. He rewarded them with a dry sense of humour, showcasing a new music video for "To Go Home" that was hilariously sparse.

Overall, his showmanship wasn't exactly dynamic, but both his raspy vocals and superb guitar work were, easily outdistancing the performer from the KT Tunstalls and Damien Rices of the acoustic pop world. And while no amount of excellent records and sold-out shows will possibly elevate Ward to the icon level, it's safe to say that he's more Dylan than most, and that should be comforting enough to this aspiring heir to the throne.