M. Ward - Islington Assembly Hall, London 15/07/14

It seems a fitting statement for someone whose career has been rich with collaborations. In addition to his time spent in Monsters of Folk and She & Him, Ward has performed and recorded with Bright Eyes, Cat Power, Beth Orton and Neko Case to name but a few. Watching him perform live, there’s an overwhelming sense that all the musicians he’s both listened to and worked with have all left their mark; it doesn’t matter whether he’s penned the songs himself, he plays them with an arresting sincerity that allows the story of the song shine through. He makes them his own, combining a touching simplicity of just vocals and acoustic guitar and wonderfully skilful playing, from his favourite Buddy Holly song “Rave On”, to his intelligent and arresting slowed down version of Bowie’s “‘Let’s Dance”.

This sentiment is beautifully illustrated as he plays “Here Comes The Sun, Again” on a fairly battered looking upright piano; he tells the story of how he wrote the song as a tribute to George Harrison upon hearing the news of his death; or with his instrumental cover of Brian Wilson’s “You Still Believe In Me”, stunningly arranged on acoustic guitar, which he claims he used to play in high school “when I just used to play guitar because I didn’t like to sing”.

Not to detract from Ward’s own accomplished songwriting, which he showcases this evening spanning the whole range of his career. Cheers go up from the crowd as he goes into “Eyes On The Prize”, and, following his rendition of “I Get Ideas” - in which he plays around with both tempo and dynamic, introducing pregnant pauses to great effect - enthusiastic cries go up from grown men shouting “I love you M Ward!”. The feeling seems to be shared by everyone in the room.

The simplicity of the performance is charming in itself; the sound of the acoustic guitar is perfectly clear and warm in equal measure, as is the tone of Ward’s slightly smoky, understated vocal. Plainly dressed in a checked shirt and blue jeans, there’s little patter in between tracks to detract from the music, often the red curtained stage of Islington Assembly Halls just fading to black to mark the ending of one song and before starting the next.

The audience are clearly spellbound throughout, with sincere applause fading to rapt silence for every song, and even in the sweltering heat of a sold out venue on a muggy July evening, the crowd are not going to let Ward leave with any fewer than three encores, the first of which sees him accompanied by support act Alessi’s Ark.

For those who only know M Ward through his work with other artists, for every bit as wonderful as his collaborations are, he’s shown tonight that he works with others because he loves it and not because he needs to; he can be just as wonderful flying solo.

• Photo by Sara Amroussi-Gilissen. See the full gallery here.