Swirling Melody

Track 6: Innocent Bones

I don’t listen to this one a ton, I think maybe because I just zone out while I listen to it, and that’s not usually what I like to do, especially whit Iron & Wine. His music is so gorgeous, you want to get every last intricate detail. The vocals on this one are reminiscent of something he would have recorded on Creek Drank the Cradle; very breathy and quiet, but still understandable. However, the production is just like the rest of the album. This song is very Caribbean touched, and at 3:43 is one of the shortest songs on the album.

Track 7: Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)

The title track doesn’t disappoint. It has a fast beat, and a constant bass strumming. The acoustic guitar is almost completely gone on this one, but there happens to be a great electric riff. There’s also a little piano splashed in there, another uncommon thing for Mr. Beam. This is one of those songs that even though there’s so much going on, it sounds like it’s coming at you from about a mile away; some slight echo in the vocals and a constant background drone help to add to the storytelling effect of the song. It also features one of the longest outros to be experienced in an Iron & Wine song.

Track 8: Resurrection Fern

I kinda liked this song at first, but I didn’t think it was anything fantastic. The harmonies are great, but that’s a usual I&W motif. And then I went on iTunes, and everyone said it was the best song of the album. What? There are at least 5 better songs on this disc. I mean, this song is good, but way overrated. And then my sister’s friend Stacie, someone I have a lot of respect for, was talking about I&W, and said “Oh yeah, Resurrection Fern is my favorite.” Am I missing something? Is there a hidden meaning here that I’m not getting? What’s so great? Please, If you read this and you know, comment.

Track 9: Boy With a Coin

This was the first Iron & Wine song that I knew (other than “Such Great Heights.”) And it’s still one of my favorites, if not my favorite. I love how the key and harmonies are mildly creepy, and how the handclaps speed up during the chorus. I love the guitar solo, I love the imagry it brings up, I love how the verses end, I love the “Aah’s” I love the guitar melody. This is the best of the best right here. As the song starts, you can already tell you’re in for something good, even the melody of the verses is interesting, but not strange enough to be jarring.

“A girl with a bird she found in the snow that flew up her gown, and that’s how she knows that God made her eyes for crying. That bird then left the ground, and circled the earth.”

Track Ten: The Devil Never Sleeps

Now, here’s a really strange song. It’s completely piano driven! Hardly any guitar at all! And it’s refreshing and fun. An upbeat sarcastic look at (What? Southern Society? I don’t even know.) This is by far the shortest track on the album (only 2:07!) but it’s still a fun little jaunt into what Sam Beam would be if he was a pianist: still good old Sam with his Southern Gothic poetry. Fantastic. Everybody bitchin’; there’s nothing on the radio.

Track 11: Peace Beneath the City

This one actually leaves me a little cold. It seems foreign to me, like my brain just doesn’t want to listen to it. It’s a weird sensation, let me tell you. Maybe you’ll love this song, though. So I’ll leave it alone.

Track 12: Flightless Bird, American Mouth

I was a quick, wet boy, dive into deep for coins…

This song is really powerful to me – it might be one of the most beautiful sounds ever produced by humankind. This is the other song that my mother has voiced her opinion about. She said, simply, “This is so beautiful.” and I don’t think she could have captured it any better. This is another one where I don’t even care what the lyrics; I just like to sit and listen to the noise. Especially during the outro – it’s all kinds of arpeggios going at once and overlaping, with “aahs ” and “La la la’s” and “Ah ha’s” going over it in a wonderful conglomeration of sound. Truely fantastic.

In a frozen copse of trees.

For my next review (I’m on a roll! Heh.) I’m gonna go way back. All the way back to, like, 2007. Holy Shit! Such a long time. And what came out in 2007 that I still listen to all the time, you ask? Well, a lot of things, but this is one of the most notable ones. I give you:

Iron & Wine:

The Shepherds Dog

Track one! (Pauses, stares at the screen, then the keyboard.) What’s track one? Hold up, let me open iTunes… *cue elevator music*

Aha! Track one! Pagan Angel and A Borrowed Car. What a fantastic song. You know, I named this post before I even knew what the first song was, and ended up naming after the first lyrics on the album. KZS. (KraZy-aSs. Don’t ask. Just embrace.) I’ve listened to this song *checks playcount* 47 times, and I still don’t know all the lyrics. Wanna know why? Because I just sing the backup vocals to my hearts content. They’re so much fun! And so easy! This was one of my favorites back when the only reason I knew who Iron & Wine was *now pause because I hate it when there’s the same word twice in a row even when it makes sense* was because he was mentioned in Questionable Content and I decided to LimeWire (who uses that awful thing anymore) every band mentioned in the entire comic. Alright. Now to actually talk about the song. *presses play*

Quiet beginning. Makes me turn it up everytime. And you know what happens then? You’re engulfed in the fantastic noise that Sam Beam is gracing the world with. I always picture every single lyric of this song, word for word, as they happen.  Smoke drifting up out af a cirdle of snow heavy branches, coming up from a fire keeping a large bearded man warm. Possibly accompanied by a wolf. A dead body floating in a harsh gray ocean. The flaming sword of a red haired angel looking sexy, with God in the background just shrugging. You get it. This song just makes me want to do nothing besides listen to it, which is a very powerful thing in this world of distractions. Luuuuuh leather boots. Beauuuuuu chapel pews. Mooooorrrn at the well. Eeeeeeeee all the horses fell. Snnaaaaaaaa posibility. And how about that last image?

While with his gun the pagan angel rose to say
“My love is one made to break every bended knee”

I love you Sam Beam.

Track Two! White Tooth Man. I didn’t like this one at first, but then it grew on me. Just like how the intro fades in, it faded into my… thing. Wow. That died. Anyway, song. There are so many lyrics flying by you, it’s almost overwhelming. Not almost. It is. And then you get a break at 55 seconds with these amazing harmonies. It lasts for 12 seconds, and then you’re right back into the crazy. Aw man.

Track Three! Lovesong of The Buzzard.  Another early favorite. When the guitar goes into the high part in the sixth measure, you’re just like “Yep. This is gonna be good.” Yesterday the solace of a Poison Fish. Tomorrow I’ll be guessing on her blood red lips. Cue the organ! Cue another harmony! Cue whatever that is! (Guitar? or something more sinister? Who knows? It seems awfully swoopy for a guitar. I notice that Sam often puts really long instrumental breaks between two verses and that’s the whole 4 minute song. Works for me.)

Tattoo of a Flower on a broken wrist.

Track Three! Four! Carousel. You know an album is good when not only do you love it, but your mother requests tracks from it. This is one of those tracks. Mama Kathleen loves this one, and that love is more than justified. This track was discovered after the initial wave of buying random I&W songs on iTunes, but before the very last couple of tracks from this album were discovered (last ones being White Tooth Man, Innocent Bones, Wolves, and Peace Beneath The City) One time this song came on in a random play and one of my friends turns to me and goes “What the fuck is this shit?” That’s when I knew I had two things in my hands. A polished turd, and a true gem. So I threw out the turd-friend and treasured the gem-song. And now! Song!

Almost home when I missed the bottom stair. There are a lot of people who hate the autotune. This is one of those places where the autotune is so beautiful and so right. This song would not be the same without the (warbling? That seems like too much of a negative thing to describe this wonderful sound.) and the pause before the word “bees.” is just so amazing. Who new a pause could be a powerful. I sure did. and the part the begins at 1:57? Best part of the whole album. Hands down. All the way through 2:49. And then that gorgeous guitar comes back in. That’s another thing about I&W songs. The guitar usually has the hook if there is one. Who cares about the vocals, just listen to the instrumentation! When that crackhead built a boat, ans said “Please before I go; May our only honoured bond be the kinship of the kids and the riot squad.”

Track Five! House By The Sea. Is that a sax? I can’t tell. Well it’s great either way. Huh! There’s the guitar! And instant harmonies. Always good. I love harmonies the most. One of the few songs on this album that actually makes you want to dance. It also tells a fantastic story; definitely listen to the lyrics on this one. He sounds almost desperate on “Changing the sound of my name” It’s just so awesome. Alright. I’m tired. I’m probably gonna publish just these tracks and return at alater date when I can think. Do you see the review for this song? It sucks hardcore. Becaus eI can’t think of anything to say. Because. I’m tired. Goodnight.