Release Date: January 25Label: Warner Bros.
It wasn't all that long ago that Iron & Wine's Sam Beam was just another acoustic-and-folk-minded singer-songwriter, churning out simple, emotional guitar songs. However, something changed upon the release of 2007's The Shepherd's Dog and Iron & Wine has blossomed into a massive, musically adventurous band. Kiss Each Other Clean is the latest example of Beam's acceptance of bolder sounds and styles, ensuring that anyone who still calls his band a "folk" act will need go hunting for some new genres. The album has a definite musical obsession with the 1970s, heard on the smooth, FM-radio-ready "Monkeys Uptown" and "Half Moon," along with the Steely-Dan-style harmonies riddled throughout. There's also some saxophone skronking ("Big Burned Hand"), some indie-approved balladry ("Tree By The River") and even some light gospel in the form of the opener "Walking Far From Home," with it's stately rhythm and chorus of backing vocals. Perhaps the strongest track is the last, "Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me," which takes the Steely Dan comparisons to fantastic heights before dissolving into an honest-to-god guitar freakout. If Kiss Each Other Clean has a weak point, is undoubtedly the lyrics, which feel too overwrought, earnest or bizarre to carry any true emotional depth ("we will become an ice cream cone?" Come again?). However, the music is strong enough to distract you. Along with Destroyer's Kaputt, Kiss Each Other Clean has made this a very good week for soft-rock revivalism. Also, gotta love that album cover.
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Well, a Steely Dan comparison is certainly high praise. Incidentally, I convinced a friend to buy a physical copy of this album last night, and we listened to it all the way through when we got home. (I guess I'm starting a trend?) It was unlike any Iron & Wine album I've ever heard before. Even Beam's vocals sounded louder and more powerful, as if he had just discovered his voice. And I always appreciate good genre-bending.
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