For Beginners: The Best Of M. Ward (Vinyl LP)

On every M. Ward album, and there are many, there are moments amongst the greatness where a song or two will stick to the side of your heart for months and years to come. This new collection entitled For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward really does do what it says on the tin, and for those wanting to hear all the perfect swoons from across the years in one place this is perfect... for newcomers, what better way to fall head over heels for this honey-voiced dream weaver! - Flying Out

For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward is a collection for M. Ward fans of any vintage. Gathering together 14 tracks from across his Merge Records discography, including the newly recorded song Cry, For Beginners is both a primer and a mixtape of favorites sequenced in a way that gives them new life.

Beginning with Chinese Translation and Poison Cup from 2006’s Post War, For Beginners drops in on Ward as he expands his prowess in the studio.

His singular cover of David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, from 2003’s Transfiguration of Vincent, breaks out into the exuberant Never Had Nobody Like You from 2009’s Hold Time. Rather than the neat evolutionary line suggested by a chronological arrangement, what holds For Beginners together is Ward’s impeccable skill as a songwriter, which remains in focus as his sound expands from low-fi home recordings to electric, radio-ready stompers.

Serendipitously timed for release during Merge Records’ 35-year anniversary, this celebration of one of the label’s most beloved artists includes Cry his first new recording on Merge since 2018 a stripped-down cover of the Godley & Creme pop classic featuring Melbourne, Australia’s Folk Bitch Trio.

Tracklist:

1. Chinese Translation
2. Poison Cup
3. Let's Dance
4. Never Had Nobody Like You
5. Lullaby + Exile
6. Duet for Guitars #3
7. Vincent O' Brien
8. For Beginners
9. Magic Trick
10. Outta My Head
11. Undertaker
12. Roller Coaster
13. Hold Time
14. Cry