Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog

the former film professor, now accomplished indie-rocker, sam beam has outdone himself again. i realize this is far overdue, but i couldn’t go any longer without turning you all onto the latest release from iron and wine. the shepherds dog is very different from his previous work. with the shepherd’s dog, beam has strayed quite a bit from his lo-fi, mostly stripped down acoustic beginnings, which he has received a fair amount of flack for. but for the life of me i cannot even begin to see what people are complaining about. sometimes different isn’t so bad, especially in this case. he again sought the aid of producer brian deck, a very accomplished percussionist, who has had his hand in a number of indie-pop albums over the past several years, from modest mouse to the fruit bats to josh ritter. together the two of them created a very rhythmic variety of some of the most beautiful arrangements i have ever heard. combined with his brilliant lyrical capabilities, it makes for one of the best albums of 2007. easily in my top five from last year. i encourage all of you to go out and purchase this album if you have not already done so.

iron & wine – innocent bones (removed 2/13/09)

i hope your ears just bled.