Reviews

A lot of us are familiar with Jim Ward’s work, whether you know him by name alone or not.  He was the guitarist for a little band by the name of At the Drive-In (yeah, those guys), and he currently plays guitar and sings for a band called Sparta.  Both of his previous efforts are awe inspiring enough, but that wasn’t enough for Jim and his musical legacy, no, he had to go and form his own record label to put out a solo album that is something not necessarily of genius, but is a perfect take on a solid classic.

The entire EP is a mixture of acoustic guitars, pianos and drums for the most part.  The songs open up a door to the softer side of Jim Ward, showing his Texas roots a little bit more than his other bands really could.  “On My Way Back Home Again” is the first song on the album and it’s one of the better tracks; it reminded me of Ryan Adams meets Matt Pond, so either way it’s a win win.  My favorite song off of the album however was either “Mystery Talks” or “Coastlines.”  Through the course of those two songs (and the rest of the record to be honest), Jim really develops his folk meets indie meets Texas country sound.  

Jim Ward’s debut solo album, Quiet, is a wondrous exploration of American folk rock and the indie rock that Jim has helped lay the ground work for over the past decade or better.  These five songs are each good on their own, but as a compilation of sound, they hold up well to anyone else.  With the growing popularity of singers starting solo projects (see Chuck Ragan [formerly of Hot Water Music], Tim Barry [singer of Avail], just to name a few) Jim’s new offering isn’t anything groundbreaking in the music world, but it’s something groundbreaking in his career, and that’s good enough for me.