In August 2006, Ward released "Post-War" on Merge Records. "Post-War" was Ward's first album with a full backing band, with players including Howe Gelb, Jim James, and Neko Case. "Post-War" was described by "Vanity Fair" in its August 2006 issue as thematic on the question "How will America heal once this craziness in Iraq is over?" Ward said in that article that he looked to the post-war music of the late 1940s and 1950s. "I had the naive, simplistic idea that producers and writers and artists of the time helped in a minuscule way to change the mind-set of America." In addition to this inspired material, the album also contains a cover of Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home", which was subsequently re-released on the "To Go Home" EP in 2007. A critical success, "Post-War" received "universal acclaim" of 81 out of 100, aggregated by Metacritic and reached No. 146 on Billboard's Top 200. Ward spent most of 2007 touring with Norah Jones in support of the album, as well as occasionally playing in Norah's touring band, "The Handsome Band". Ward played on Jones's 2007 release "Not Too Late".