it's only right that my first post be centered around
iron & wine.* for those who have never listened to iron & wine, i can tell you this - you should do it. iron & wine's first album,
the creek drank the cradle (2002,
sub pop records), was written, performed and recorded entirely by sam beam. it revolves largely around guitar plucking and his ethereal, hushed vocals. overall, the debut album was well received by sources such as
pitchfork (giving the album an 8.1/10 rating),
sputnik music (a 5/5 rating), and
allmusic (with a 4.5 star rating). personally, it is my favorite iron & wine album to date (with the exception of the live
norfolk album from 2009).
following
the creek drank the cradle, iron & wine released
our endless numbered days in 2004. the album marked a change for beam, as it was his first album recorded in a professional studio. furthermore, it was not a solo album. the professional aspect of the album altered nothing but the sound quality of iron & wine. it was still just as gentle and calming.
our endless numbered days received its name from lyrics found in the song, "passing afternoon." the song helped popularize iron & wine when it was featured on an episode of house m.d., "wilson's heart."
our endless numbered days also received high reviews from popular media sources.
pitchfork gave the album an 8.6/10 rating,
sputnik music felt the album deserved 4.5/5, and
allmusic once again gave the album 4.5 stars.
the most recent full-length album released by iron & wine was
the shepherd's dog in 2007.
the shepherd's dog managed to sell around 32,000 copies in its first week and claimed the 24th spot on the U.S. billboard 200 chart. this album is, by far, the most diverse and listenable. it is definitely appealing to a wider group of ears than his previous albums, thus making it his most popular to date.
the shepherd's dog was well received by critics (sam beam will never let us down, except when he allows his music to be featured in
twilight... which already happened).
pitchfork ended up giving it an 8.6/10,
sputnik music rated the album with 4.5/5 and
allmusic awarded the album 4.5 stars.
so what's next for iron & wine? faithful fans have been promised a new full-length studio album in early 2011 entitled
kiss each other clean. but before that, sam beam is wrapping up his international/mid-west tour (AND PLAYING IN COLUMBUS ON OCTOBER 14th).
more reasons to listen to iron & wine...
-"the trapeze swinger" has the ability to reduce anyone to tears given the appropriate set of circumstances.
-sam beam is wearing a sweater vest in
this video.
-beam is probably one of the most wholesome musicians i can think of. and he looks like a friendly grizzly bear.
-nobody can pull off a beard like he can.
-the sound developed as it did because beam would record his music at home after his wife and kids went to sleep, among other influences in sam's life.
-beam originally went to school for art (believing he would become a painter), then dabbled in photography. before the release of his first album, beam's main source of income was teaching cinematography at the univeristy of miami.
-a slight (endearing) southern accent can be detected in sam beam's voice.
-beam's sister sarah provides back-up vocals (this adds to that "wholesome" point).
-as stated, "passing afternoon" was featured on house m.d. (along with a bon iver song. one day i will write about justin vernon, just you wait).
and many other reasons. but i have chemistry homework to do.
