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Sleepercar
Opening for City & Colour. May 28 (8pm). Jubilee Auditorium. Sold out.

As a founding member of both At The Drive-In and Sparta (the less-acknowledged of ATDI’s post-split offshoot bands) Jim Ward is a de facto post-hardcore hero. Why in the world, then, would he turn to the deep, dark realm of country music? Certainly not because he’s attracted to Kenny Chesney’s sleeveless escapades and the “Ford Tough”-ness of it all—those he can do without. 

“It’s definitely the timelessness of it,” Ward says. “I’m not a fan of commercial pop country at all—I think that’s just bad pop music. Classic country, great country—that’s the stuff that I love. And I love the combination of country and rock or country and indie rock—whatever this is coming out of me. It’s just enjoyable.”

Whatever is coming out isn’t your typical country, new or old. The songs Ward first meandered through during soundchecks in early 2001 (on what would be At The Drive-In’s last tour) grew from an admiration for acts like Dallas rockers The Old 97’s, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Gram Parsons. The sound filtered its way into Ward’s hardcore sensibilities and the result was a growing collection of strangely subdued, alternative-tinged country jams.

Ward certainly didn’t rush to the task of delivering his new project; he continued touring with Sparta and continually shelved the untitled project time and again for close to seven years. Sleepercar went through several informal incarnations (Ward’s Dad Jeff even lent his bass skills) before landing on the one fans know now. And only now, on the strength of the full-length album West Texas is Ward ready to set the train in motion, so to speak. As for the long wait, he blames perfectionism rather than procrastination.

“[The songs] would go to and from the shelf while I was on the road,” he says, “and I kept coming back to them. If something just didn’t feel right, or felt forced or faked, I started to throw it out. A lot of those songs, a lot of good songs, took years.”

And frankly, West Texas was worth the wait: the album bends lap-steel bawlers like “Fences Down” around the country-stamped breakdowns of songs like “A Broken Promise.” Top it off with the layered melodies and rolling snares of “Wednesday Nights,” and you’ve got a very cool pairing: a lot like being strung out… in the porchlight.

Critical reactions to West Texas have been warm, and Ward’s capitalizing on the heat by touring through the summer and straight into the fall. “Things have been really good right off the bat, so that makes me a little nervous!” he says. “So far, so good.”

Just don’t ask Ward what’s next. “I never think about that. I like to just go with the flow, wherever my life takes me, and respond to it.”