M.Ward is sharing “too young to die” feat. First Aid Kit today, the final pre-release track from his upcoming album ‘Supernatural Thing,’ out this Friday. In the song’s new video, Ward is a security guard working the graveyard shift who starts to see the ladies of First Aid Kit appear in his security camera’s video feed. Watch it below.
Watch + listen to “too young to die” feat. First Aid Kit: https://youtu.be/DyMn2OUMffY
“First Aid Kit are twin sisters from Stockholm, and when they open their mouths, something amazing happens,” Ward said of working with them. “It was a great thrill to go to Stockholm and record a few songs there. The sound from blood-related harmony singers is impossible to get any other way – The Everly Brothers, The Delmores, The Louvins, The Carters, The Söderbergs – all have the same kind of feeling in their vocals.”
In addition to First Aid Kit, the album is filled with guest stars – Shovels & Rope, Scott McMicken, Neko Case, Jim James and others — who enliven the album with surprises. Eight of the album’s ten songs are Ward originals, but there is also an unusual Bowie choice, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” from Blackstar, and a live rendition of Daniel Johnston’s “Story of an Artist.” “Bowie and Johnston are constant sources of inspiration for me, have been for I don’t know how many years,” Ward offered.
‘Supernatural Thing’ is M. Ward’s first new music in three years, but in 2020 M. Ward released two albums. On April’s ‘Migration Stories’, Ward was inspired by the immigration journeys he’d heard from friends or read about in newspapers, as well as what his own grandfather had to go through when immigrating to the US from Mexico. For the December album ‘Think of Spring’ he covered classic Billie Holiday tunes, as she is an artist he’s greatly inspired by. “Instead of the small jazz bands or orchestration she relied on, M. Ward pares the songs to just his voice and guitars, making them sound even starker than they once did,” said Rolling Stone.
Pre-order ‘Supernatural Thing’
1. lifeline
2. too young to die (feat. First Aid Kit)
3. supernatural thing
4. new kerrang (feat. Scott McMicken)
5. dedication hour (feat. Neko Case)
6. i can’t give everything away (feat. Jim James)
7. engine 5 (feat. First Aid Kit)
8. mr. dixon (feat. Shovels & Rope)
9. for good (feat. Kelly Pratt)
10. story of an artist
