Album artwork for The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine

Following a one-record hiatus to collaborate with Tucson collective Calexico on 2005's In The Reins, Iron and Wine (Sam Beam, that is) recoils to the earnestness and intimacy that embodied his first two records, his cerebral words and phrases tunneled beneath an orchestra of guitar, banjo, keyboards, and strings. More definitive than ever, the rhythm and percussion complement Beam's voice, a lulling, almost eerie tone that occasionally recalls John Lennon's early solo work, especially on delicate tracks like the bluesy Wolves (Songs of the Shepherd's Dog and Carousel, with its veiled references to Iraq. Those raised on the lo-fi routine of Beam's earlier work will find rawness and sanctity in the more upbeat selections: The Crosby, Stills and Nash folk-rock of House by the Sea and Boy with a Coin and the atmospheric beauty of Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car and Shepherd's best song, Lovesong of the Buzzard. With an organ swirling about and a slide guitar adding gentle flourishes, Beam concedes that "no one is the savior they would like to be," without realizing that, when it comes to fluent music and pristine storytelling, perhaps he is.

Iron and Wine

The Shepherd's Dog

Sub Pop
Album artwork for The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine
CD

£9.99

Released 30/08/2016Catalogue Number

spcd710

Learn more
Album artwork for The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine
LP

£19.99

Released 30/08/2016Catalogue Number

sp710

Learn more
Iron and Wine

The Shepherd's Dog

Sub Pop
Album artwork for The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine
CD

£9.99

Released 30/08/2016Catalogue Number

spcd710

Learn more
Album artwork for The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine
LP

£19.99

Released 30/08/2016Catalogue Number

sp710

Learn more

Following a one-record hiatus to collaborate with Tucson collective Calexico on 2005's In The Reins, Iron and Wine (Sam Beam, that is) recoils to the earnestness and intimacy that embodied his first two records, his cerebral words and phrases tunneled beneath an orchestra of guitar, banjo, keyboards, and strings. More definitive than ever, the rhythm and percussion complement Beam's voice, a lulling, almost eerie tone that occasionally recalls John Lennon's early solo work, especially on delicate tracks like the bluesy Wolves (Songs of the Shepherd's Dog and Carousel, with its veiled references to Iraq. Those raised on the lo-fi routine of Beam's earlier work will find rawness and sanctity in the more upbeat selections: The Crosby, Stills and Nash folk-rock of House by the Sea and Boy with a Coin and the atmospheric beauty of Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car and Shepherd's best song, Lovesong of the Buzzard. With an organ swirling about and a slide guitar adding gentle flourishes, Beam concedes that "no one is the savior they would like to be," without realizing that, when it comes to fluent music and pristine storytelling, perhaps he is.