Review - Iron & Wine

Band: Iron & Wine
Album: The Shepard’s Dog
Label: Sup Pop
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sam Beam has come a long way since he recorded The Creek Drank the Cradle out of his own house. The singer-songwriter has progressed over the years with each recording. His original tracks mainly showcased acoustic guitars, banjo and slide guitar- all of which were recorded by Beam. He has gradually built the sound of Iron & Wine by surrounding himself with other musicians. The extensive assortment of instrumentation on Iron and Wine’s latest release The Shepard’s Dog really shows how far Beam has come.

I was recently strolling through a long list of music blogs and almost every blog in some way or another mentioned Iron & Wine. With this type of hype there is no doubt that they’ve become a very influential band within the Indie world. Their earlier releases were made up of basic instrumentation that put the listener to into a dreamy state. If you need to be awake and alert, listening to Iron and Wine’s earlier work might not be a good idea. But with The Shepard’s Dog comes music that is a little bit more accessible as it movies from dreamy to mellow-chill. This is an album you can listen to when you’re doing your work and still be productive. Because of this The Shepard’s Dog will really expand the band’s fan base.

Those who are worried that The Shepard’s Dog is too far of a departure from Beam’s previous work shouldn’t be concerned. His vocals and distinct songwriting are the driving force behind Iron & Wine that hasn’t changed. There are songs that could only be done by the band like the track “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” or “Resurrection Fern.” There are also songs that one might be not expect to hear on an Iron & Wine release such as the surprisingly funk driven “Wolves (Song of the Shepard’s Dog).”

The wide range of instrumentation on The Shepard’s Dog really stimulates the listener throughout the whole album and makes it Iron & Wine’s best release to date.