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