Biography
Bob, a new album by Ward White, is available now. ("A chilling, cinematic classic" – New York Music Daily)
"A superbly lyrical voice…"
– The New Yorker
“...channeling Scott Walker’s scope with Paul McCartney’s playfulness..."
– MAGNET Magazine
Brooklyn based vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Ward White has released seven albums - his last, Done With The Talking Cure, was named as one of the best records of 2011 in MAGNET Magazine's Year In Music issue. In addition to his solo work, Ward is one half of the chamber pop duo, McGinty & White (with former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist, Joe McGinty), whose debut album received accolades from The New Yorker and New York Press, naming it one of the five best albums of 2009. M&W debuted their feature-length tribute to songwriting legend Jimmy Webb, McGinty & White Sing Webb, at Joe's Pub in March, 2012.
A featured vocalist with the long running Loser's Lounge tribute series in NYC, Ward has performed as a sideman with acts including Bryan Scary, Josh Joplin, Kristian Hoffman , and The Kennedys. He is currently working with internationally known neuroscience researcher, and best-selling author of The Emotional Brain, Dr. Joseph LeDoux, to develop a multimedia performance piece combining science, memoir and music.
Written & Produced by Ward White
Recorded by Bryce Goggin at Trout Recording, and Joe McGinty at Carousel Studios, Brooklyn
Mixed by Bryce Goggin at Trout
Mastered by Joe Lambert
Ward White: Vocals, Guitars
Eddie Zweiback: Drums
Joe McGinty: Keyboards
Matt Lindsey: Bass
Jeff Hermanson: Trumpet
Claudia Chopek: Violin
Reviews
"A chilling, cinematic classic"
New York Music Daily
Full review of Bob
"Brooklyn's Ward White sports a sweet, high tenor whose hints of fragility are just a ploy: when he goes after the dramatic top notes, he nails them... soaring, lyrical pop."
The New Yorker, April, 2011
"Bob is a cryptic concept album that gains more lyrical momentum from New York singer/songwriter Ward White's novelistic eye and knack for capturing a moment than it does from linear motion. The eponymous character at its center is surrounded by a series of parallel and overlapping narratives, adding up to a tale that's almost Thomas Pynchon-esque in its storytelling sleight of hand. The musical framework that White fashioned to support his story is just as assiduously crafted. Between the singer's penthouse-elevator vocal range (with plush, cloud-hopping melodies to match), Joe McGinty's vintage-keyboard coloring, and White's own eloquent lead guitar lines, Bob should lighten the heart of anyone who feared that classic art-pop a la David Bowie, Scott Walker, Sparks, et al., was an endangered species. Whoever Bob is, he's far from an everyman, seemingly having more in common with the kind of characters frequenting Donald Fagen or Elvis Costello songs than those of, say, Bruce Springsteen. But White's work here is all about achieving something indelibly uncommon."
– iTunes Editorial Review, May 2013
"Plenty of today's singer/songwriters take cues from the past. Not enough of them manage to sound unique when doing so. Done With The Talking Cure finds this New York artist channeling Scott Walker's scope with Paul McCartney's playfulness, all while creating something singular and compelling. Ward White's clever words bemoan the pitfalls of humanity. Melodies soar and turn corners unexpectedly, while his angelic voice portrays hope, despite his dark lyrics. Were it the 1970's, Done With The Talking Cure might be an AM-radio staple. In 2011, it's simply miles above the limp indie fare that gets sold through commercials."
MAGNET Magazine – Best of 2011, Hidden Treasures
"The title track is part Bowie and part Byrds wrapped in a soulful operatic tenor. White is a gifted vocalist with a distinct voice and musical stories that beg to be heard."
Powerpopaholic, April, 2011
"Done with the Talking Cure is brutally hilarious, and may be his best one yet... the songs speak for themselves. Another masterpiece from a songwriter who will someday – if there is a someday – be pantheonic."
Lucid Culture, April, 2011
"With a vocal style triangulated somewhere between David Bowie, Scott Walker and Morrissey, and a satirically lacerating songwriting bent that evokes images of late-night skull sessions between Randy Newman, Elvis Costello and Leonard Cohen, Ward White hits all the right marks here. Orchestral pop rubs shoulders with indie rock and the artier end of the singer/songwriter spectrum on an album that manages to make near-fatal self-effacement sound like fun."
Ourstage.com, Best Albums You Didn't Hear, 2011
Music
Videos
McGinty & White, with Strings - Live at The Bowery Electric, NYC, 3/19/2010
Joe McGinty - Piano, Vocals
Ward White - Vocals
Eddie Zweiback - Percussion
Claudia Chopek - Violin & Arrangements
Karen DiYanni - Violin
Lara Hicks - Viola
Eleanor Norton - Cello
Shot by Scott Clements & Giancarlo Baldino
Edited by Giancarlo Baldino
Live sound by Timm Stroede
Copyright 2010, McGinty & White
