Iron and Wine is a band I heard of three years ago in the beginning of my freshman year from the same man who introduced me to bands the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, and The Shins. Steve Rigby, seriously, thank you. Now of the bands my dear friend Schtv (above) has introduced me to, two of them now have albums in my top five of all time; one of these being Death Cab's Transatlanticism which is, I feel, given its dues. The other, is Iron and Wine's The Creek Drank the Cradle. Oddly enough, I heard about Iron and Wine back in two thousand and seven and I honestly don't listen to any of the stuff he's produced since then nearly as much as his first album.
Iron and Wine is Sam Beam, plain and simple. Yes, he has a full band on his later albums. Yes, his sister does backup vocals on a good share of his tracks. Yes, sometimes he tours with... guys, you're missing the point. Sam Beam's later music, as good as it is, is nothing compared to his first album. It may be just him and a guitar, however, it was just him and a guitar. He recorded his first album The Creek Drank the Cradle alone in his basement. Seriously. This guy lives in Florida with a wife and a few kids, has a masters degree in something having to do with film, teaches at a local college, and in his spare time writes some of the best music of my generation in his basement. I'm sorry, I'm gushing, aren't I?
You have to understand, Sam Beam is like a mentor to me. His work is incredible, his beard is incredible, and on top of that he's a quiet family man. In my intro to literature class we were separated into groups, actually allowed to choose our own, score right? So Tay Beals, Luke of Luke and Jim's Bluebeedew, and I sat down after class to pick a poem. I told them, we're doing a song, it's by Iron and Wine. We then dissected, interpreted, preformed and presented the song The Trapeze Swinger for our class. We literally spent hours working through just the lyrics of the song. Studying his intricate rhyme scheme and his careful meter. I'm sorry, I'm gushing again, aren't I?
Well I suppose I will leave you with this. When I left to study in Belfast I ran into Sam Beam in the Dublin airport. Said hey, shook his hand, and made small talk about my studies and his work. The very next day, jet lagged, no local currency, in a foreign city; two friends of mine and I walked down the street, hailed a cab, and went to see him live. It was possibly the best concert I've ever been to, and it was just him with an accompanist for a few songs who jumped from instrument to random instrument. Sam Beam proves that he is truly an artist in his comprehension of when enough is enough, and that less is often more. His lyrics could stand alone as poetry, but who would want them to after hearing him sing them? I'm sorry, I'm gushing again, aren't I?
Check him out for yourself. The songs: Upward Over the Mountain, The Trapeze Swinger, and Naked as we Came wouldn't be a bad start. And come on, look at that beard.
