Done With The Talking Cure, the new album from Brooklyn based singer/ songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist Ward White, is available now. A lyrical catalog of anxieties, compulsions, and the people underneath, it's eleven elegantly crafted songs navigate a lush and varied musical landscape, drawing on influences from the Great American Songbook to baroque pop. Following the success of his his 2009 collaborative venture, McGinty & White, the singer soon found himself with a series of new songs linked by a common thread: fear.
Following the success of his his 2009 collaborative venture, McGinty & White, the singer soon found himself with a series of new songs linked by a common thread: fear. Eager to preserve the spontaneous nature of the compositions, Ward completed basic tracking over the course of four days at Don Piper's (Robbers On High Street, Anton Fier) DUMBO studio, Between The Trains. In addition to performing all vocals, guitar and bass on the album, Ward acted as producer, enlisting keyboardist and musical partner Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs, Loser's Lounge) and string arranger/violinist Claudia Chopek (Moby, Hem) to bring unique and varied textures to the collection of terse, yet densely melodic tracks. As on their previous project, keyboardist McGinty employed his arsenal of vintage synths and keyboard oddities, including modular Moog, Celesta and electric harpsichord, while Chopek's kinetic string quartet arrangements, and Eddie Zweiback's drumming provide a propulsive underpinning for White's "silver-throated croon" (-Dave Mandl, WFMU). Mixing was overseen by Ken Rich (David Mead, Joseph Arthur) at Grand Street Recording in Williamsburg.
Displaying a deft blend of acoustic and electric elements, Done With The Talking Cure mines the dramatic vein of Scott Walker and Jimmy Webb (We Can't Go On Like This, Be Like Me), while embracing the simplicity of four piece rock (Done With The Talking Cure, Radio Silence). Lyrically, the songs find metaphors in the parallels between Kafka and Freud, to the telltale signs of delusional parasitosis. Plus, guitar solos.
A New Yorker since 1995, Ward White has released seven albums, garnering praise from local and national press. Reviewing his debut, Artificial Light, AllMusic Guide said, "a truly unique piece of work... leaves listeners virtually slammed by the masterful music." His follow up, Medicine, received notable mentions from Splendid.com: "the best unsigned artist I've heard all year. You get scenes, precious dirty moments that might have been snatched off the pages of Raymond Carver". Music blog Lucid Culture said of his 2008 release, Pulling Out, "not just one of the best albums of 2008, it's one of the best albums of the decade."
As one half of the chamber pop duo McGinty & White, Ward co-wrote/produced their debut collaborative album, McGinty & White Sing Selections From The McGinty & White Songbook; critical praise included accolades from The New Yorker and New York Press, who named the record one of the five best albums of 2009 (-JR Taylor). M&W have performed together live on WFUV (Rita Houston's Whole Wide World), WFMU (Dave Mandl's World of Echo) and WXPN/NPR (World Cafe Live), joined original Stiff recording artist Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby for a string of northeast tour dates, and appeared as musical guests for Upright Citizens Brigade.
Ward is a regular singer with the long running Loser's Lounge series, crooning gems from the likes of David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson and Burt Bacharach. He also frequently performs as a sideman with acts including Josh Joplin, Among The Oak & Ash (Verve/Forecast), A Balladeer (EMI Europe), Kristian Hoffman , The Kennedys, The Paparazzi (solo project of Cat Power bassist, Erik Paparozzi), and Edward Rogers.
www.wardwhite.net
"Brooklyn's Ward White sports a sweet, high tenor whose hints of fragility are just a ploy: when he goes after the dramatic top notes, he nails them... soaring, lyrical pop."
-The New Yorker, April, 2011
"The title track is part Bowie and part Byrds wrapped in a soulful operatic tenor. White is a gifted vocalist with a distinct voice and musical stories that beg to be heard."
-Powerpopaholic, April, 2011
"Done with the Talking Cure is brutally hilarious, and may be his best one yet... the songs speak for themselves. Another masterpiece from a songwriter who will someday?if there is a someday?be pantheonic."
-Lucid Culture, April, 2011