Iron & Wine - "Beast Epic"

Now I know I'm far from the only one.  But I've always sort of found the music of Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) to be so charming.  Back on his 2002 debut "The Creek Drank The Cradle", Sam brought in his very unique twist on the Indie Folk genre.  This album was super Low-Fi and not polished at all.  But Sam's sweet, charming vocals and introspective lyrics made this album an absolute delight.  Then we have 2004's "Our Endless Numbered Days", which to be perfectly honest took me some time to get into.  This album was a whole lot more in the direction of standard Indie Folk, which did bother me a little at first.  But over time, Sam's very charming performances won me over with incredible tunes like "Love and Some Verses" and "Free Until They Cut Me Down".  Also, I have to add, some of the bluesier tunes on here were seriously well executed.  Sam took Iron & Wine in an entirely different direction with 2007's "The Shepherd's Dog" however, and MAN was it good.  This was the first time I really heard Sam with a full band, and at first, I really didn't know how that would sit with me.  But I thought his band's very big and more complex sounding instrumentals complimented Sam's very soothing vocals wonderfully.  Not to mention, it took Sam's music into wonderfully sounding new genres.  "The Shepherd's Dog" ended up wowing me from start to finish, and had me wondering what Sam was going to do next. Sadly, 2011's "Kiss Each Other Clean" was so much less than what I expected.  Instrumentally, this was still lavish and absolutely inventive.  But Sam just sounded out of place on this album, and his vocals and lyrics just seemed a little worn out.  On 2013's "Ghost On Ghost" however, Sam even sounded more worn out.  The instrumentals here were lighter and airier than ever, incorporating Jazz and plenty of other genres.  But almost none of it actually came off good, and Sam usually sounded grossly out of place in the middle of it all.  Sam really needed to step back and change things up a bit.  Thankfully, that's exactly what Sam did with 2015's "Sing Into My Mouth".  This album was a huge change of pace, being a stripped down covers album he performed alongside Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses fame.  Now, I'm just as iffy on covers albums as the next guy.  But I feel like this album really brought Sam back to his roots, and brought in that Alt-Country/Folk sound he started with.  Not to mention, this was just a series of really solid covers.  Sam continued down this collaborative album route with 2016's "Love Letter For Fire", a collaboration with Jesca Hoop.  This album once again was a seriously nice change of pace for Sam. The songs were warm, patient, and absolutely beautiful.   But most importantly, Sam just seemed so comfortable in the material he was performing. So it's been a few years since we've heard from Sam.  And these new teaser tracks have been equally as warm and sweet.  So let's talk about this new Iron & Wine album.

This album starts off with “Claim Your Ghost”.  Now, I haven’t heard Sam on his own like this in such a long time, and to be honest, he sounds really refreshed.  I love just how strong his vocals are coming off, and even though there are plenty of instrumentals there’s an odd sadness and emptiness to this one.  To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I heard Sam this straightforward and up front with his vocals.  To me, I’m always going to sort of remember him for his early days when Sam was so much quieter and shy, and this is sort of a homecoming for that sound.  “Claim Your Ghost” ushers in this album wonderfully.  The folky strumming, while it's slow, is just so powerful, and I love the sort of Alternative Country aspect lingering as well.   Sam’s performance is hypnotic, the strings are seriously beautiful, and overall I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this one.  Up next is “Thomas County Law”, and can we just take a minute and point out just how stripped down this is and how refreshing this is for Iron & Wine.  A few years back, Sam had gotten so far into expanding his sound that he really ended up losing a lot what made his music special, to begin with.  There might be some backing strings and such, but for the most part, it’s just Sam and his guitar.  And not for nothing, I can totally vibe with that.  For such a stripped down sound though, this is certainly really vast and beautiful.  Not to mention, his vocals are just so warm and strong sounding.  It’s really hard not to love a lot of whats going on here, mostly due to just how easy going this album is in nature, and just how gentle and absolutely beautiful these instrumentals are.  It’s a very sweet and easy to listen to track from Iron & Wine.  Not to mention, with all that’s going on, Sam continues to sound so refreshed.   The very stripped down sound to this record continues with “Bitter Truth”.  However, with just how stripped down this is, it continues to make Sam the star, which is something that I feel was really lost in his music for a while.  I love his sweet and tender vocals on this one, as well as some of the backing vocals that just give this track the right amount of dimension.  But I really feel like it’s some of the lyrics on this one a home run for me.  So far, this album has been so “Back To Basics” for Iron & Wine, and the lyrics are no exception.  Lyrically, I feel like this is the sweet and more personal side of Sam that brought me to enjoy his music in the first place.  “Bitter Truth” is a wonderful tune.  Then we have “Song In Stone”, which sadly is just a little too stripped down for my liking, to be honest.  I mean, I love hearing Sam full on, but at the very least these last few tracks have had such a sweet atmosphere to them. On “Song In Stone”, I honestly don’t get that at all.  Plus, I don’t feel like the backing vocals are nearly as interesting or as memorable.  Actually, they end up taking a little away from Sam’s vocals.  And when things eventually pick up and instrumentals start popping in, the instrumentals end up getting so vibrant that they start drowning out Sam’s performance.  Overall, this track really doesn’t give me the same warm feelings.

    Sam bounces back quickly however with “Summer Clouds”, and I actually really like the sort of bluesy and downtrodden sound to this one.  It still has that sort of Alternative Country vibe and all, but my goodness is this track ever dreary.  To be honest, it actually works really nicely for Sam.  Overall though, I feel like this album has just been haunted by sadness completely.  But to be honest, it’s the most natural and strongest that I’ve heard Sam in a long time.  But however dreary “Summer Clouds” gets, it remains seriously warm and easy to take in.  Not to mention, those strings in the background just make this an even drearier and bigger track.  Then we have “Call It Dreaming”, the first tune I heard from this album a few weeks back.  This track is simply put, really enjoyable.  Sam sounds a little less dreary on this one, and brings in more harmonies which I really dig.  “Call It Dreaming” also brings in a few more instrumentals which are nice, like some pretty stunning pianos and some plucked strings.  To be honest, it’s seriously stunning.  There’s also more of a Folk-Rock tinge which shakes this album up just enough.  But not once does any of this take away from Sam’s performance, which is exactly what I was worried about.  As far as a stand alone track goes, you can’t go wrong with “Call It Dreaming”.  Then we have “About A Bruise”, which sadly doesn’t hit me as hard at all.  I feel like this one is trying to be a little edgier and more off kilter.  But these groovier Folk licks aren’t hitting me at all.  Vocally, this isn’t nearly as charming, that’s for sure.  And I just really don’t feel like this one is captivating overall.  Lyrically, “About A Bruise” isn’t as interesting or as personal, and there just isn’t anything about this one that takes me away at all.  There are a few pretty instrumentals here and there.  But outside of that, this one is just way too average for Sam.  And all of that goes double for the next track “Last Night”.  This track is sadly just really awkward.  If this is supposed to be Sam’s more abstract moment of the album, it’s quite frankly a little embarrassing.  The warmth is all gone completely, that’s for sure.  And while Same sounds fine, this instrumental just gets on my nerves.  So much so, that this actually makes me miss the more eclectic days of Iron & Wine.  “Last Night” isn’t edgy and it’s not abstract, and most importantly it does nothing to compliment Sam.  It just really ends up getting under my skin with how childish and how incomplete this sounds.

Rating: 7.9/10

Give A Listen To: "Claim Your Ghost", "Thomas County Law", "Call It Dreaming" "Our Light Miles"

Genre: Indie Folk / Folk / Indie Rock / Alternative Country / Singer/Songwriter / Folk Rock

If You Dig This, Check Out: Iron & Wine: "The Shepard's Dog", Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago", Calexico - "Edge of the Sun", Band of Horses - "Cease to Begin”

Overall Thoughts:  At the end of the day, this is a surprisingly straightforward and seriously enjoyable record from Iron & Wine.  It's been a few years since we've heard Sam completelty on his own, and for the most part he really sounds refreshed.  There are a lot of very charming performances, breezy atmospheres, and stunning performances.  There are a few sort of awkward moments for Iron & Wine here occasionally, but this is as far as I'm concerned, the best thing he's done since "The Shepards Dog".