Sam Beam of Iron and Wine

The simple songs on the new Iron and Wine record make me feel like a baby at bedtime. As in the past, Samuel Beam’s dreamy voice is like a lullaby and his lyrics hint at a mysterious, inscrutable world, one just abstract enough to keep me from worrying  It is when I turn back into an adult, however, that things between Sam Beam and I start to go wrong.  Rarely have I heard an album that can so both bring me and bore me to tears.

Let me start with the good news.  Kiss Each Other Clean has Iron and Wine’s finest recorded moments –hands down.  Honestly, these moments are not just good but f***ing stellar.  The  gem of the record is “Godless Brother in Love” and it sits upon all the great aspects of Mr. Beam’s sound; beautiful lyrics that feel like a story not meant to be heard, lushly orchestrated guitars and piano, and Beam’s soft voice mixed front and center.  The backing vocals ebb and flow, providing a ghostly counterpoint to the space between his words.  And notice how Beam tastefully bends and nudges the rhythmic feel with each chorus.

Iron and Wine, Godless Brother in Love

Another high point is the song “Rabbit Will Run,” a fine example of Beam’s use of eclectic instrumentation, featuring African Kalimba, Marimba, Slide Whistle, and a slew of other percussion instruments.  This song brings us to one of the most important dynamics of this album.  Beam is well aware of the repetitive nature of his melodic writing.  To balance this, he often creates shifting instrumental textures to keep things fresh.  While this comes together with mixed success is spots, this song happens to feature it done to great effect.  The sea of percussion and voice happening behind his lyrics give the song a unique forward momentum.  Listen to how the marimba drives the rhythmic energy.

Iron & Wine, Rabbit Will Run

Many of the songs on this album feature similarly simple melodies, and a number of them also successfully keep the ear interested with brilliant backing tracks.  “Walking Far from Home” is another fine example.

Iron and Wine has a tough act to follow with his last recording, The Shepherd’s Dog.  The songwriting, production, and orchestrations all came together to create something truly special, and in the shadow of that great work I find this new record sometimes disappointing, especially given that it’s a fourth album  Why not take a few risks with your vocals, Sam?  Why not experiment more with song-form?  At times, as on “Glad Man Singing,” it seems as if he’s simply plugging new sounds into the same old formula.

Iron & Wine, Glad Man Singing

Finally, there seems to be strain of thought in the rock/pop world that hiring shoddy horn players for your recording will give it a “gritty” “soulful” sound. The sax solos on this record make me cringe., especially since it was recorded in Chicago, and the number of great saxophonists in that town well known.  While not a Chicagoan the perfect choice for this record would have been John Ellis, imagine that sublime sound along with Beam’s smokey vocals.  Amen!

Ultimately, the high points of this record more than merit a purchase, and I’m sure it’s especially enjoyable on vinyl.  Iron and Wine has made a record that while staying quite safely within the rules established on Shepherds, manages to at times to bring real magic to the formula.  Iron and Wine turns me into a jolly baby.  Maybe with the next record we’ll be ready for adulthood.

Tyler Gilmore composes chamber music ranging from jazz to modern classical. His last piece for Frontier Psychiatrist was a review of Kneebody’s You Can Have Your Moment. He leads Ninth+Lincoln, an orchestra that fuses big band sounds, 20th century symphonic influences and electronic textures.  He has three recordings to be released in 2011 including a rock/folk project with vocalist Alaina Ferris and a chamber ensemble project with trumpeter Cuong Vu.