Music Review // Michael Ward "How good can this get?"

 

When this song first begins it feels as if we're going to have an acoustic guitar strumming along with the vocals.  However, that quickly changes as the guitar kicks in and we get a full on electric sound.   The way that this turns into a big rocking sound with these heavy chunky chords just goes to show that you can't judge music by its opening seconds.  I'm not sure exactly how to describe this sound of rock, but it feels somewhat like when a current punk band (like The Ataris) covers a song from the big hair days of the 1990s, but Michael Ward just makes it work.

Throughout this song Michael Ward sings about the things which make him happy.  If you are paying attention to things happening around the world, it feels like we're living in fairly bleak times, so to have a song that would instead focus on the positive just feels like such a blessing.  And sometimes, yes, in the bigger picture of things you might feel like the world is on fire, but if you break it down to your life in a personal way, things might just not be that bad.

"How good can this get?" asks this question while also singing about packing up the truck, hitting the road and playing for people who love your music.  I get that being on the road all the time can make you home sick and maybe other things, but this song just feels like it cuts to the core of finding what you like about what you're doing and just using that to create happiness.

This song is a bit fast paced and upbeat.  At one point the song does say: "Gonna smoke this city / No turning back" and I feel like that's part of the fun in a tour.  You get to go from city to city, so if you feel one way about Monday you can reset and change that attitude when you're some place else on Tuesday.  But you don't even need to change your location to change your outlook- it's just all about how you see things and hopefully this song shines some light.