Hello. My name is Sal. I have never listened to an Iron And Wine record...until yesterday.
I had this preconceived notion about what I would find inside those records and it wasn't good. Those records weren't calling my name. As a matter of fact, everything about those records told me to stay away. I hated Sam Beam's beard almost as much as I hate the word "indie." And for all I know, all of Iron And Wine's records prior to 2024's "Light Verse" might be exactly what I think they are-- lo-fi acoustic, amelodic mope fests. I was thinking Elliott Smith with Smith Brothers bristles. But, I actually came around to Elliott Smith thanks to BuzzBabyJesus. He picked the right tracks for me. I haven't become an Elliott Smith "fan," but I did finally hear the beauty within, at least on a number of tracks.
"Light Verse" isn't that far off from that preconceived notion except, I found myself enthralled by every word and melody. This isn't a mope fest. Though it can be somber at it times, it's mostly just beautiful music.
If it wasn't for John Doe and Exene shopping at Amoeba and Doe pulling "Light Verse" out of his bag, I might not have bothered with Iron And Wine at all. Why am I listening to John Doe? Because I love X and Doe said the right things. All I know is, few records this year have moved me the way "Light Verse" did.
Get started with these, one of which is a duet with Fiona Apple.
11 comments:
Wow.... didn't think Iron and Wine would be your thing. A lot of his early stuff is quite lo fi, but not what I'd call a mopefest but because it's usually just voice and guitar can sometimes be hard going. He still releases some of those early recordings as part fo an archive series. But I'd say he really started moving on from the lo-fi amelodic thing by the second album. If you liked Light Verse, I'd recommend The Shepherd's Dog, Kiss Each Other Clean, Ghost on Ghost, the second half of All Around The Well (a chronological B-sides out--takes collection) and the 2 albums he did with Calexico.
I've always had the same notion about Iron and Wine after hearing a few tracks many years ago. These sound pretty good.
Love the "amelodic mope fest" line, but have to admit to googling the definition of amelodic.
Randy
Randy
Falls in a broad category I refer to as "Lord knows I've tried." 😎
I don't think Beam has ever been amelodic or particularly mopey (maybe you were expecting The Mountain Goats?), but his early stuff was hushed due to recording at home at night while his family was sleeping.
Iron and wine is my doctor's recommendation for my anemia! Coincidence? I think not
Well, it's been a while since I've given him a try, so I'll do so again! Meanwhile in jazz, for some reason I listened to John Surman's new album "Words Unspoken" on ECM. No idea what prompted that but I'm loving it. Turns out of course he's highly regarded, been recording music since practically the day I was born and has dozens of albums on that label. Great stuff on a first spin.
I came to him through Calexico, which I viewed at the time as taking medicine mixed with something delicious. We all have taken roundabout ways to discover new artists. It's part of the fun.
I hate to admit that I bought his first album based on a review I read. The Creek Drank the Cradle did not impress, Not in the least bit. I'd rather listen to Nick Drake. From what Sal put out there, it's a vast improvement. The guy's prolific and maybe he is a genius but I don't give a shit what John Doe buys. I'd rather invest my energies elsewhere. John Surman maybe.
VR
"The guy's prolific and maybe he is a genius but I don't give a shit what John Doe buys. The guy's prolific and maybe he is a genius but I don't give a shit what John Doe buys."
Jeez. And I was hoping there was video of what he bought at Kroger's.
So far, only I and W I have enjoyed are his colloborations with Calexico. But, I'll give this one a try.
A friend had recommended Iron & Wine to me a long while back, so I started with The Shepherd's Dog which was the current release then. I like most of the work since then, but can't say I love it. The tempos across entire albums often stay too constant for me. These new tracks have more variation in tempo/instrumentation. All In Good Time has the added bonus of a duet vocal.
- Paul in DK
Post a Comment