M. Ward - To Go Home EP

I tend to wonder why people release EPs. I can’t help but try to put myself into their shoes. For example, maybe Matt needed some quick cash for a new camera. Or maybe he just had a short message to send to his fans. Or maybe a critical piece of musical equipment broke during the session and he needs the cash to replace it. In my experience, musicians tend to live more “hand-to-mouth” than a lot of folks. The old starving artist stereotype and all. Lots of them sleep till four in the afternoon, too, when they’re not on the road.

Anyhow, I like this release despite its brevity. “Human Punching Bag” is a vignette about self-perception. “He might swing to the left, he might swing to the right, sometimes he’ll keep perfectly still, but he’s gonna get hit, let’s not kid ourselves, he will.” That is the soul of this release to my ears.

Author: listener | Category: Music Reviews | September 2007