IRON & WINE
The Shepherd’s Dog
[Sub Pop-2007]
How appropriate that Sam Beam was a film professor. Talented musicians who know their way around film bring with them lessons about space, dynamics and balance, qualities that have always been present in the music of Beam’s alter ego Iron & Wine.
Despite not being a household name, millions of people have heard the hushed vocals and plaintive acoustic guitar that have made up most of I&W’s recorded output. His cover of The Postal Service’s “Some Great Reward”—also featured on the Garden State soundtrack—was part of a recent M&M candy ad campaign, with the increased, subsequent interest in I&W reminiscent of what a Volkswagen ad did for the late Nick Drake a few years prior. The cover was also, arguably, even better than the original—itself a modest hit—raising the I&W profile a bit more along the way.
As Beam’s unaccompanied acoustic guitar and whispery vocals gained more acceptance outside indie rock circles, he decided to expand his sonic palette. The Woman King EP (Sub Pop-2005), with its breathtaking title track, was definitely a statement of purpose. Beam wasn’t abandoning his sound; he was just making it richer.
And that’s exactly what he’s done on his highly-anticipated, third full-length release, The Shepherd’s Dog. Like on Woman King, the charming lo-fi sound of the past is gone and Beam’s trusty acoustic is joined here by banjos, accordions, upright bass, horns, assorted percussion, female backing vocals, acoustic and electric piano, and some electric guitar. (Kudos to producer Brian Deck for a masterful job keeping the album’s numerous sounds balanced and its flow effortless.) But Beam has truly branched out not only instrumentally but musically, as well: shades of Afro-pop, dub, brief hints of psychedelia, the spacey grooves of Los Lobos offshoot The Latin Playboys, and latter-day Tom Waits, permeate the surroundings without being too obvious; it’s clear to anyone familiar with his music that Beam is a man who knows how to channel his influences and make them his own.
It’s a sheer delight that thoughtful, imaginative music such is this being made these days. And that Iron & Wine’s prolific output and adventurous spirit practically guarantees we can look forward to much more. Sweet.
Highlights: “Lovesong of the Buzzard”, “Carousel”, “House by the Sea”, “Innocent Bones”, “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)”.
