Iron and Wine Goes In A New Direction


The Kiss Each Other Clean album art, courtesy of www.ironandwine.com

Iron and Wine is the stage name of Samuel Beam and has become a renowned staple in the indie music genre with calm, serene songs light on the acoustic guitar and heavy on the heart. His melodic, almost fragile in it’s softness, cover of “Such Great Heights” was featured in the 2004 indie classic Garden State, setting Beam’s reputation as a folk rock god as he whispered out lyrics over barely there but subtly strong guitar chords.

A few weeks ago, Iron and Wine’s fourth studio album, Kiss Each Other Clean, was released on Warner Bros. records. Basically, this album sounds nothing like the Iron and Wine that fans have come to know and love. It has a completely different tone and atmosphere, with a full, layered sound and strong pop and electronic influences. It’s a very produced sound and definitely marks a change in Beam’s style, and in an interview with SPIN magazine, he said “It’s more of a focused pop record.”

This doesn’t mean the album is bad, just a bit of a shock for those that know Iron and Wine’s earlier sound.It does take a bit of getting used to from the previous style, but Beam’s talent as a musician comes through and he has more of a presence in his art. The album is strong and each song seems like a bold move and he pushes past his comfort zones, though he stumbles with some areas he hasn’t quite figured out, like attempted jazzy undertones and a few awkward horn sections.

The album begins with Beam’s voice singing over a droning, static hum, with a harmonic choir swelling up from below before piano chords and drum beats carry it to a strong pop-rock song. Some songs still try to hold onto the twang Beam had with his folky music, but jazz and pop influences with layers of instruments make the album more upbeat and ‘generic’ in comparison to his previous emotionally-saturated, unique sound.

All in all it isn’t a bad collection of music, but take it with a grain of salt if you’ve already known Iron and Wine. It won’t be what you expect, but you can’t really blame a musician for trying something new by changing and strengthening his sound.

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