Think of Spring

Released in 2020, Think of Spring is a conceptual cover album where M. Ward reimagines the tracklist of Billie Holiday’s 1958 masterpiece Lady in Satin. While the original was famous for its lush Ray Ellis arrangements, Ward filters these jazz standards through his own idiosyncratic indie-folk lens. The recording process involved significant use of a Tascam four-track cassette recorder, contributing to the album's pervasive tape hiss and analog warmth. This record represents a significant moment in Ward's catalog, moving away from the more polished 'chamber pop' leanings of his middle-period work and returning to the raw, bedroom-folk aesthetics of his debut, Transfiguration of Vincent. Critically, it was praised for its bold minimalism and the way Ward's raspy delivery captures the weary, weathered spirit of Holiday's final recordings without ever resorting to imitation.