Vibrant New Iron & Wine: "Kiss Each Other Clean

I have one unsolvable problem in my life. Through whatever fantastic or supernatural means I conjure up in my head – time travel, reincarnation, mind swaps, or displacement during a ninja pirate war – I never end up related to Sam Beam, the genius behind Iron & Wine. To appear more sane, I will be honest and say these are not daily considerations. These far-flung fantasies only appear when I end up in an Iron & Wine phase. This time there is an excuse for it: less than a month ago, Iron & Wine's latest studio album "Kiss Each Other Clean" came out on Warner Bros. Records.

For those of you unfamiliar with Iron & Wine, they are part of the folk revival that exploded in the earlier parts of the past decade. Starting out with a home recorded lo-fi album full of wispy ballads, Iron & Wine's first album leaves its audience feeling as though Sam Beam was in the same room, sitting cross legged and staring at the moon, or hunched over on a chair jamming with a guitar slide and coaxing every last tone out of his old guitar. Their second album captured the same atmosphere, though with better recordings, including songs about childhood, coming of age, and life in the South.

Then, one fateful day in 2007, it all changed. This is when Iron & Wine lost some fans and confused others, all the while revealing their genius. With the release of "The Shepherd's Dog" Sam Beam kept the same signature folksy core and poetic lyrics but threw in influences from West African music, dub, blues and other styles. Beam had previously been known for his subtle falsetto and rhythmic finger-picking. With the third album, Beam's music grew in complexity and made it onto several Best Album lists for that year.

"Kiss Each Other Clean" reflects the complexity that Beam brought to his music with "The Shepherd's Dog", but seems more continuous and conscious of its sound and feeling throughout the album. Similarly, it is filled with many creative layers. The song "Big Burned Hand" opens with a sax solo, while "Half Moon" features a doo-wop chorus in the background, the synth, and even some heavier guitar riffs. Though "Kiss Each Other Clean" is not a progressive jump from simple to complex, or lo-fi to layered studio music, it further proves Sam Beam's brilliance. The album is a joyous and well-done album full of just as much skip and pump as "Shepherd's Dog", though perhaps more cohesive. It leaves room for the listener to pause and reflect along the way to appreciate the roots and core of Iron & Wine's music.

This album has left me more than satisfied. It is undoubtedly a premium artistic endeavor by a talented artist who has continued to make his music new and refreshing, retaining a sense of vibrancy, creativity and energy that is coupled with the beauty and sweetness of his older music.

I am convinced that this album has created and cemented Iron & Wine's career as innovative and original artists, and that Sam Beam will never lose his ability to gently croon us to sleep and dream within his music.