David Ward stays impressively eccentric on Golden Future Time

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      David Ward
      Golden Future Time (Independent)

      Playing spot-the-overriding-influence is a challenge on David Ward’s boldly produced Golden Future Time. Starting off working a synth-drift soul vibe that would put a lump in the pants of Saturday Night Live’s Ladies Man, opening track “Slowly Through the Night” eventually veers into guitar-sheened Kid A territory, after which celestial synths bubble up out of nowhere.

      “Lost” continues on the modern R&B tip but loads up on prog-lite keyboards down the back stretch, while the gold-leaf waltz “Ghost in the Woods” plays connect-the-dots with Freddie Mercury and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Not content to stop there, Ward breaks out the white candles and dims the lights for the Sunday afternoon piano softie “Be Here” and then out-’70s your favourite soft-rock station with the impressively layered “Bird in the Hand”.

      If one thing remains constant, it’s that the dude can totally sing, to the point where you have to wonder why the hell modern Motown hasn’t come calling. And let’s hope it doesn’t, for no other reason than the label would probably ruin Ward—who plays a release party at Live Sound on Saturday (March 1)—by promptly stripping away all of his impressive eccentricities.

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