“Communion Cups and Someone’s Coat” starts off Disc two of Around the Well. Another repeat EP song, this is an Numbered Days era song, along the lines of “Sunset Soon Forgotten” or “Sodom, South Georgia.” It’s only two minutes long, but it’s a fantastic glimpse of a life that seems perfectly happy. There’s not enough of that in today’s music. The next track, “Belated Promise Ring,” stay along the same vein, but it features prominent use of an upright base, giving the base line more umph than it usually has, and giving the song even more of a bluegrass feel. (I think that’s what that is?) It tells the story of the narrator and his Rebecca, a difficult woman who he loves anyway. An example line is “She may kiss me when her girlfriends leave again.” Classic.
“God Made The Automobile” is where you realize you’ve really gotten to the good stuff. It opens with eggshakers and half-hum, half-aahs that continue throughout a la “Trapeze Swinger”. It has a really singable melody, and it keeps moving; the banjo part makes me smile. A lot of his banjo parts have that effect. “God made the automobile, and I made a little boy.” “Homeward These Shoes” is a minute and a half long, but you only kind of notice. It feels just as developed as any of his two and a half minute songs. I want this song to repeat, with a full choir coming in the second time through. I think that would be awesome. The next track is a cover of some 80′s song. “Love Vigilantes” is the story of a soldier whose wife gets a telegram, and there’s a better version offered as a bonus track on iTunes. This version is faster than the other one, with more percussive guitar, and the harmony his sister adds are sorely missed. I knew the other version already because it was offered on an iTunes exclusive EP a while back and I bought it. But seriously, check this one out.
Huge fans might know “Sinning Hands” from his Live at Lollapalooza EP, but this is it’s first studio release. It’s another Endless Numbered outtake, and the style kind of gets repetetive at this point. The song structure is more similair to something off of Shepherd’s Dog, however, with the verse-instrumental break-verse format, so that’s a nice change. This is another one that would benefit from being faster. But I guess it wouldn’t be the same song then. The ending actually kind of reminds me of Built To Spill’s “Conventional Wisdom.” Huh. There’s a comparison I wasn’t expecting. They might be in the same key or something.
“No Moon” Reminds me off what “Woman King” would be if it was slower. Strange percussion, dissonant but not unpleasant harmonies, a similair styled melody, a repetetive slide guitar part to serve as a break between verses, a guitar part with a big jump in it. It’s almost as though he wrote this song, and then took all the good things from it and made a better song. Works for me I guess. Analysis like this is what happens when you listen to everything someone has ever recorded.
“Serpent Charmer” is the beginning of the Shepherd’s Dog era stuff, as is evidenced by the noise at the beginning. Pure, unproduced Iron & Wine would never have but that in, and I’m so glad that he has matured as a song writer. And if you don’t get it right awaym this song is entrancing. You are the snake. The vocal melody of this song is simple, but as good as it gets, as is the banjo part. I always think of banjo as being a negative thing, but it so isn’t. It’s another short one, but so is “Naked As We Came” and that song’s amazing. This is a standout track.
You know what else is a standout track? “Carried Home.” It has echoes of “Peace Beneath The City” but has more piano, his voice is clearer, and it’s a little slower. It has a piano solo, and then the outro. Oh, the outro. At 2:23, a mantra-like wail of “Carried home, carried home,” begins, slowly adding more harmonies, as well as more off-beat guitar plucks and piano improving. The vocals dissolve away at 4:40, and saxophone comes in, the guitar picking stops, a synth riff starts, a weird bass comes in, and ohmygodmybrainmelted. This song was originally a B-side to “Boy With A Coin.” Imagine those two together and allow you mind to be blown.
“Kingdom of the Animals” is the other B-Side from “BWAC” and it’s a piano driven feel-good jaunt. It has some great background vocals, but that’s kinda ll it has going for it. It’s fun to listen to , but I’m not gonna go out of my way for – ACCORDIAN SOLO! What? Yes! That’s fantastic. And now the song is better. *Starts song over* Yep, it’s still boring ACCORDIAN and now it’s good. Incredible songwriting right there.
“It’s a cold, cold place in the arms of a thief.” “Arms of a Theif” would have been at home on Shepherd’s Dog, and I wish it was on there so I could’ve gotten to know it sooner. It’s very electronic, and it’s probably the fastest song on this album. It has Sam’s standard epic backup vocals, but they seriously just make a great song amazing. He also has the octave effect going for him on this one, singing really low and mildly high at the same time.
The collection wraps up with the first, official, Iron & Wine release of “The Trapeze Swinger.” See my post entitled “My Parents Keep Scolding Me” for a full review, but yeah, it’s still amazing.
¡Adios, mis amores!
