Portland, OR-based troubadour M. Ward will release his first solo album since 2009’s Hold Time on April 10. During the time between albums, Ward traveled the world with She & Him, as well with the musical collective know as Monsters Of Folk, finding inspiration for his new songs. Recorded in eight different studios in Portland, Omaha, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Bristol (UK), the album acts as somewhat of a musical travel journal with a venerable lineup of guest musicians.

“Between now and when I made Hold Time there has been a lot of traveling which requires a lot of reckoning with what to leave behind and what to carry,” says Ward. “I wanted to get a reflection of that on the album. It was a process of stripping away my security blanket, which is the same four walls I always record in.”

Featured on A Wasteland Companion are appearances from Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis (organ), Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley (percussion), She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel (vocals), Dr Dog’s Tobey Leaman (bass), Devotchka’s Tom Hagerman (strings), Oakely Hall’s Rachel Cox (vocals) and more. In addition, the recording utilized eight engineers, including Tom Schick (Rufus Wainwright) and John Parish (PJ Harvey).

Ward’s sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion, comes out April 10 on Merge Records. See below for the tracklisting and supporting tour dates.

Tracklisting:
01. Clean Slate (for Alex & El Goodo)
02. Primitive Girl
03. Me And My Shadow
04. Sweetheart
05. I Get Ideas
06. The First Time I Ran Away
07. A Wasteland Companion
08. Watch The Show
09. There’s A Key
10. Crawl After You
11. Wild Goose
12. Pure Joy

M. Ward Tour Dates:

02/02 Los Angeles, CA—Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
04/11 San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore *
04/12 Santa Cruz, CA—The Cocoanut Grove Ballroom &
04/13 Indio, CA—Coachella
04/14 Santa Barbara, CA—SoHO
04/16 San Diego, CA—Belly Up &
04/17 Phoenix, AZ—Crescent Ballroom
04/18 Flagstaff, AZ—The Orpheum &
04/20 Indio, CA—Coachella
05/05 Portland, ME—State Theatre +
05/06 Burlington, VT—Higher Ground +
05/07 New Haven, CT—Toads Place +
05/08 Boston, MA—House of Blues +
05/11 New York, NY—Webster Hall +
05/12 Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer +
05/13 Washington, DC—9:30 Club +
05/15 Durham, NC—Duke Performances at Page Auditorium +
05/16 Athens, GA—Georgia Theatre +
05/17 Atlanta, GA—Buckhead Theatre +
05/22 Chicago, IL—Vic Theatre +
05/24 Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue

• w/ Jonathan Richman

& w/ fIREHOSE
+ w/ Lee Ranaldo Band