M. Ward seems to approach a new project like a retro-fitted troubadour unearthing long-lost folk treasures, and on his latest album Migration Stories, he’s recounting 11 traveling tales with his own timeless spin.Inspired by the countless artistic works and secondhand experiences surrounding flight that he’s gathered over the years, along with his own lineage as the grandson of a Mexican-American immigrant, Ward weaves the sprawling set of far-flung scenes into a unifying journey with his coarse, smoked leather vocals casting out evocative and stirring spiritual imagery.Now making its landfall in a world that has effectively become sedentary, the album gains a sense of wistfulness as Ward explores the innate drive for mobility and desire.