Category:
Roots

Try if you like:
Damien Jurado, David Singer, Sebadoh

•   Boy With A Coin

Sam Beam, known to more as Iron & Wine, has almost become mainstream. His fans love him and his music. I have been listening to Iron & Wine since day 1 as well and while I never really get excited about his releases but ultimately I end up falling in love with them. That is the same for The Shepherd's Dog, Sam's greatest achievement to date. Anyone familiar with Sam knows that his music is low-keyed folk (to paraphrase) but if you heard his lovely collaboration with Calexico a couple years ago you may have found yourself wanting more. Beam has delivered with The Shepherd's Dog, a much more ambitious effort in all around instrumentation. 

Sure, Iron & Wine don't need the press on this album but I can't find myself not writing about The Shepherd's Dog. The whole effort is so complete and lush, much more than anything else Sam has been involved with.  Starting out with the wonderfully titled "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" you can hear exactly where this album is going. Wandering piano melodies are layered underneath the great rhythmic guitar and percussion. The more you listen to it, the more you hear. Just caught a cello in the back this time. The instrumentation is thick on the album but never overwhelming. The intro moving into "White Tooth Man" is well executed. Each song presents a different sonic palette, coming up with a diverse listen. Just have a listen to the soft and lovely "Carousel" to hear the new Sam Beam, complete with vocal effects. "Resurrection Fern" is a great country song. "Boy With A Coin" has a great clap track as percussion, ends up being another of the great highlights of this flawless album.

At 50 minutes this is also not only the biggest album Beam has released to date but also the richest, fullest and most rewarding.