I guess Iron & Wine could best be described as “new folk.” Tones of Nick Drake and Elliot Smith…basically, damn good singer songwriter music. I first saw Iron & Wine a few years back at SXSW in Austin, thanks to my good friend Marina. When sick of current music, I’ve often fallen back on folk and singer-songwriter music, having been weaned on Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. I’m rarely inspired by today’s breed of folk and singer-songwriters, as it often goes down the wrong path into bland, preachy, or self-indulgent dreg. A few exceptions to this rule are Patti Griffin, Jonatha Brooke, and Iron & Wine.
Sam Beam (singer of Iron & Wine) has a way of lulling you, while his subtlety and softness also has intensity. Iron & Wine possesses that rare understated intense emotion that very few bands can pull off. Radiohead. Some Mazzy Star. Beck’s Sea Change album. The music that crawls in and you feel it from inside out.
At first listen, Iron & Wine could be easily taken as too mellow or possibly bland, but then you catch undertones of racier lyrics, intertwined with sweetness. “We’ll meet again. And f*#@ the man.” While previous albums took awhile to pull me in, their newest album The Shepherd’s Dog grabbed me right away. A little catchier with a slightly faster pace, undertones of Americana, and all the wonderful twang of a banjo. Banjo rules.