M. Ward's fifth proper album begins appropriately with the lyric "When you're absolute beginners, it's a panoramic view," a notion that the dusty Portland, OR-based singer/songwriter must be nostalgic for as his profile increases with each and every project. His 2008 collaboration with actress/singer/songwriter Zooey Deschanel as the producer, player, and arranger of She Him helped to let the rest of the world in on what the low-key folk underground has been savoring since 2001's End of Amnesia. His penchant for sun-drenched West Coast vistas and timeless narratives that revel in Tom Waits-inspired Americana and non-dogmatic spirituality come full circle on Hold Time, a typical Matt Ward collection of laconic summer songs that could have safely appeared in any decade without suspicion of origin. Similar in scope to 2006's Post-War, Hold Time feels like a single performance, with songs fading out within inches of their successors, often holding true to both instrumentation and theme. Ward populates the project with a handful of guest appearances, though none gratuitous. Deschanel returns the favor on two cuts, a languid cover of the Buddy Holly classic Rave On and Never Had Nobody Like You, a straight-up blues-rocker that fuses a Gary Glitter backbeat to the skeleton of Post-War nugget Requiem; Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle helps turn To Save Me into a lost ELO-produced Beach Boys rarity; and Lucinda Williams lends her sweetly graveled pipes to a lovely, expansive version of the Don Gibson weeper Oh Lonesome Me. As always, Ward peppers the record with originals that sound like long-lost Hank Williams tunes (One Hundred Million Years and Shangri-La) and lush ballads that sound like they crawled out of an old safe deposit box. The title track in particular brings to mind Ward's English equal, ex-Pulp guitarist and ultra-cool retro-crooner Richard Hawley -- between the two of them, they've built a bridge between indie and adult alternative rock that positively reeks of class. Hold Time will do little to entice listeners for whom Matt Ward's sepia-tone charm holds no sway, but for fans who have enjoyed the ride thus far, this looks like the sunniest stretch of road yet. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

1		For Beginners
2		Never Had Nobody Like You
3		Jailbird
4		Hold Time
5		Rave On
6		To Save Me
7		One Hundred Million Years
8		Stars of Leo
9		Fisher of Men
10		Oh Lonesome Me
11		Epistemology
12		Blake's View
13		Shangra-La
14		Outro