Originally released in 1999,
M. Ward's debut is a sparse, mostly live affair recorded with pal and engineer
Adam Selzer of
Norfolk & Western at Type Foundry Studio in Portland, OR. Listeners who are already accustomed to
Ward's breathy, conversational vocal delivery and soft-picked, West Coast Americana melodies will find much to love here, while those looking for good entry point should probably start with one of his later albums.
Duet for Guitars #2 is peppered with instrumentals in the
John Fahey and Bad Timing-era
Jim O'Rourke vein, and
Ward's lackadaisical picking sounds just as lazily precise here as it does on future recordings. There's a real warmth to the sessions that transcends the often bare-bones production. For the most part, it sound like most takes were done live with two microphones, with the occasional overdub, and that style suits
Ward's dreamy tales of molasses-slow teenage summers ("Beautiful Car") and oddball parables like "Fishing Boat Sons." It's also interesting to hear him shedding the inflections of some of his more obvious heroes like
Neil Young ("Who May Be Lazy") and
Bob Dylan ("It Won't Happen Twice").
Duet for Guitars #2 sounds like a debut. It's got some filler and it tips to the lo-fi end of the scale more often than not, but it's brimming over with promise and timelessness. ~ James Christopher Monger