Iron And Wine | Album Review

Story by Dylan Bliss 

| Published Feb 1, 2011

Few things are more pleasing than when a well-loved artist transitions into a more fully-realized embodiment of their own sound. Iron and Wine’s newest LP, “Kiss Each Other Clean”, has the capacity to evoke an array of emotions while offering a groovier, more accessible approach to his well-known bedroom antics.

The first track opens with a muffled pastoral narrative as Sam Beam’s voice becomes clearer and the full band sneaks in behind him. The days of lo-fi acoustic love notes are long gone, and what Beam has used to fill the empty space is as poetic as ever. “Shepard’s Dog”, Iron and Wine’s previous LP, serves as a lovely stepping stone into this fuller sound that showcases a slew of unexpected instruments.

For instance, if someone were to tell me 3 years ago that Sam Beam had chosen to utilize a sax soloist and a trio of lady crooners to accompany him on his next record I'd probably have written it off as a mid-life crisis and mentally filed him next to Phil Collins in the “worn out” section of my favorite artists. However, no one ever told me that, and I ended up listening and enjoying the incorporation of the jazz flutes and pitch flights throughout the album.

Beam’s haunting and personal observations are ever-present in his calmer tracks “Godless Brother in Love” and “Tree By the River”, and the rest is accented by appropriate highs, lows, and tasteful cursing that most priests wouldn’t apologize for.

Simply put, if you’re still stuck on the aesthetic of Iron and Wine’s quiet solo recordings of the past, expect to be a bit disappointed. Those willing to embrace the growth of Beam’s vision will be pleased to see how the new sound has the potential to reach even greater heights.