Spring Break
Play it by Ear
Rusty Grapes
Jordan Kerfeld
Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 1
Iron and Wine's "The Shepherd's Dog" is a page-turner, but for reasons one might not expect.
Instead of eagerly enjoying each track and wanting to get to the next, I found myself flipping through tracks to merely get to the end.
Performing under the moniker Iron and Wine, South Carolina native Sam Beam creates unique soft folk music with a trademark vocal delivery. He became most recognized with "Our Endless Days," where the album's songs showed up on everything from television shows to M&M commercials.
With "The Shepherd's Dog," his latest release on SubPop, Beam "goes electric," trading his intimate acoustic endeavors for a richer, multi-instrumental sound.
A fellow critic labeled it as comparable to Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks," but the comparison is too generous. I think it sounds more like an ultra-conservative Animal Collective or old Shins. Sitars, pianos, funk bass, Congo drums and other un-identifiable instruments whimsically complement his high vocal whispers.
The same problems that plagued his last album are present on his latest. His voice, while sweet and soft, has a tendency toward monotony after repeated listening. After adding several instruments and sounds, the album is a bit boring, but has a few promising tracks.
"Carousel" is a meandering, soft song that successfully utilizes new background music. Some of the other songs on the album seem to be including instruments arbitrarily instead of consciously. On the whole, "Carousel" contains the best aspects of the Iron and Wine of old.
It is immediately followed by the funky and interesting "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)." A funk baseline darts back and forth as guitars plink away at strings. Iron and Wine smoothly travels the wave his backing music is providing. His words also create some interesting imagery, such as:
"Bike wheel spinning on a pawnshop wall/She'll wring out her colored hair like a butterfly beaten in a summer rainfall."
As a whole, the album feels like a direct reaction to critics who claim his music only operates in one gear. His logic seems simple enough, and I think it would go like this:
"Perhaps if I add more instruments and nod to different genres, they will drop this complaint!"
Unfortunately, the complaint remains. The parts mix into a coherent whole, but his vocal quality and soft contemporary sound fades into the background. It doesn't demand to be taken seriously on its own merits but to be an accessory to everyday activities.
Grade: B-
jbk6cb@umkc.edu
Instead of eagerly enjoying each track and wanting to get to the next, I found myself flipping through tracks to merely get to the end.
Performing under the moniker Iron and Wine, South Carolina native Sam Beam creates unique soft folk music with a trademark vocal delivery. He became most recognized with "Our Endless Days," where the album's songs showed up on everything from television shows to M&M commercials.
With "The Shepherd's Dog," his latest release on SubPop, Beam "goes electric," trading his intimate acoustic endeavors for a richer, multi-instrumental sound.
A fellow critic labeled it as comparable to Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks," but the comparison is too generous. I think it sounds more like an ultra-conservative Animal Collective or old Shins. Sitars, pianos, funk bass, Congo drums and other un-identifiable instruments whimsically complement his high vocal whispers.
The same problems that plagued his last album are present on his latest. His voice, while sweet and soft, has a tendency toward monotony after repeated listening. After adding several instruments and sounds, the album is a bit boring, but has a few promising tracks.
"Carousel" is a meandering, soft song that successfully utilizes new background music. Some of the other songs on the album seem to be including instruments arbitrarily instead of consciously. On the whole, "Carousel" contains the best aspects of the Iron and Wine of old.
It is immediately followed by the funky and interesting "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)." A funk baseline darts back and forth as guitars plink away at strings. Iron and Wine smoothly travels the wave his backing music is providing. His words also create some interesting imagery, such as:
"Bike wheel spinning on a pawnshop wall/She'll wring out her colored hair like a butterfly beaten in a summer rainfall."
As a whole, the album feels like a direct reaction to critics who claim his music only operates in one gear. His logic seems simple enough, and I think it would go like this:
"Perhaps if I add more instruments and nod to different genres, they will drop this complaint!"
Unfortunately, the complaint remains. The parts mix into a coherent whole, but his vocal quality and soft contemporary sound fades into the background. It doesn't demand to be taken seriously on its own merits but to be an accessory to everyday activities.
Grade: B-
jbk6cb@umkc.edu
Be the first to comment on this story