Quiet

We had our first snow in Columbus yesterday, and it was substantial. Not enough for the news teams to give it a catchy name, but enough to slow things down and make everything look nice and clean for a little while.

Coincidentally, the day before, I received in the mail an EP by Jim Ward titled Quiet. Actually, it was addressed to Joel Childers, so maybe I'm not supposed to have it. (Mr. Childers: If you would like your EP, I'll send it along, but I'm afraid I'll have to keep my current address.) Jim Ward was the the guitarist for seminal post-hardcore/emo-punkers At the Drive-In, then went on to form the not-so-seminal-but-similar band Sparta with some of the leftovers. (The other remaining members became the Mars Volta.)

It turns out Ward has created a nice, aptly titled little five-song EP that's a great companion to a snow day. Ward usually shreds his vocal chords screaming in Sparta, but on these tunes he sounds like a subdued, American David Gray alongside stripped-down, acoustic arrangements. It's nothing groundbreaking lyrically, but it's surprisingly understated coming from Ward. Maura Davis of Denali also adds some vocals on "Take it Back" to great effect.

In the release, Ward hints that this is the first in a series of recordings, and says that after a long tour, "I wanted to sit in my house and play acoustic guitar quietly." I'm glad he did, because on cold, snowy days I like to sit in my house and listen to acoustic guitar quietly.

mp3: Jim Ward - Take it Back