A Wasteland Companion

A Wasteland Companion is the seventh studio album from M. Ward, released in Australia and New Zealand on April 6, 2012; in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2012; and in the United States on April 10, 2012. A Wasteland Companion is the follow-up to his 2009 album Hold Time.

A Wasteland Companion
Studio album by M. Ward
Released	April 6, 2012 (2012-04-06)
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	36:47
Label	Merge, Bella Union, Spunk
Producer	M. Ward
M. Ward chronology
Hold Time (2009) A Wasteland Companion (2012) More Rain (2016)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pitchfork	6.3/10[2]
NME	7/10[3]
Under the Gun Review	8/10 [4]

A Wasteland Companion was recorded in eight studios in the United States and the United Kingdom.^[5][6][7] M. Ward promoted the new album on his 2012 European and American tour, March 20 to May 24.^[8][9]

The album garnered a rating of 75 out of 100 from critics as compiled by Metacritic.^[10]

Track listing

1. "Clean Slate" - 2:51
2. "Primitive Girl" - 3:10
3. "Me and My Shadow" - 2:36
4. "Sweetheart" (Daniel Johnston) - 3:31
5. "I Get Ideas" - 2:39
6. "The First Time I Ran Away" - 3:17
7. "A Wasteland Companion" - 2:54
8. "Watch the Show" - 3:40
9. "There's a Key" - 2:57
10. "Crawl After You" - 3:41
11. "Wild Goose" - 2:35
12. "Pure Joy" - 2:57^[11]

Personnel

• M. Ward – guitar, piano, vocals
• Zooey Deschanel – vocals
• Susan Sanchez – backing vocals
• Rachel Cox – backing vocals
• Toby Leaman – bass
• Tyler Tornfelt – bass
• Mike Coykendall – percussion, bass, acoustic guitar
• John Parish – percussion, marimba
• Jordan Hudson – percussion
• Steve Shelley – percussion
• Scott McPherson – percussion
• John Graboff – pedal steel
• Howe Gelb – piano
• Nathan Jr. Andersen – piano
• Mike Mogis – organ, orchestra bells
• Tom Hagerman – strings
• Amanda Lawrence – violin

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12]	33
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[13]	51
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	35
US Billboard 200[15]	21
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[16]	9
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[17]	16
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18]	5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[19]	10
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[20]	4
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[21]	2

References

1. "A Wasteland Companion by M. Ward". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
2. Maddux, Rachael (2012-04-10). "M. Ward: A Wasteland Companion". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
3. Catling, Simon (2012-04-05). "M Ward - 'A Wasteland Companion'". NME. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
4. "REVIEW: M. Ward: 'A Wasteland Companion'". Under the Gun Review. March 29, 2012. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
5. "Merge Records Store". Mergerecords.com. 2012-04-10. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
6. Andrew Tijs (2012-03-27). "M. Ward Prepares His Sixth Album A Wasteland Companion | New Music | Music News". Noise11. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
7. Courtright, Nick (2012-03-06). "Merry Christmas, Wasteland Companion: An Interview with M. Ward of She & Him, Monsters of Folk, and Himself". Austinist. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
8. Steve Appleford (2012-03-11). "M. Ward Brings Songs from 'A Wasteland Companion' to KCRW | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
9. "M.Ward Upcoming Shows". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
10. "A Wasteland Companion - M. Ward". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
11. Thompson, Stephen (2012-03-25). "First Listen: M. Ward, 'A Wasteland Companion'". NPR. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
12. "Ultratop.be – M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
13. "Spanishcharts.com – M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion". Hung Medien.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion". Hung Medien.
15. "M. Ward Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
16. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
17. "M. Ward Chart History (Digital Albums)".^{[dead link‍]} Billboard.
18. "M. Ward Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
19. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
20. "M. Ward Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
21. "M. Ward Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard.