Iron and WineThe Shepherd's Dog | Sub Pop  October 30,
2007 12:28:54 PM
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Sam Beam, the singer-songwriter behind the name Iron & Wine, made a name for himself with the four-track masterpiece The Creek Drank the Cradle in 2002. But rather than staying lo-fi, he’s moved on to bigger productions. On his third Iron & Wine full-length, he goes for his biggest sound yet, but the production is mere window dressing for some of his best songwriting. Rendering dark, melodic tales full of detailed lyrics (“There ain’t a penthouse Christian that wants the pain or the scab/But they all want the scar,” from “Innocent Bones”), Beam still sings in the same hushed tones that dominated his home recordings. Only now, his whispery delivery is surrounded by full-band accompaniment. There are hints of his lo-fi beginnings on the opening “Pagan Angle and a Borrowed Car,” but before the first verse has ended, drums kick in along with bass and electric guitar. Indeed, The Shepherd’s Dog goes beyond the basics of guitar/bass/drums, with clicks, claps, and snaps peppering the backdrop along with the sounds of picks hitting guitar strings and feet touching floors.
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- That intoxicating smell, the siren-call sizzle — looks like pop culture has gone hog wild
- Never mind its tough-girl alt-porn feminism: SuicideGirls has already moved on to a new generation
- We already know about politicians’ capacity for coarse behavior. But how low can the press go?
- Body modification as art at the Peabody Essex Museum
- That intoxicating smell, the siren-call sizzle — looks like pop culture has gone hog wild
- Is there one political story the press shouldn’t report?
- Dutoit and Elder at the BSO, Collage’s Berio, Boston Conservatory’s Turn of the Screw, and Kurt Weill at the Gardner and the MFA
- Body modification as art at the Peabody Essex Museum
- The right of a performance artist represents the rights of all Americans. Plus, an opportunity with Cuba.
- We already know about politicians’ capacity for coarse behavior. But how low can the press go?
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An unhappy marriage of sounds
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- No Arms | Self-released
- Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman) | Koch
- Flock | Yep Roc
- Line in the Sand | SideOneDummy
- District Line | Anti-
- Holon | ECM
- Outside of Portland, a Battle Within rages
- Reba Duets | MCA
- Dirt Farmer | Vanguard
- Dununya | Jumbie
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