The Creek Drank The Cradle

Today's Music That Jason Is Listening To is Iron & Wine's The Creek Drank The Cradle. I believe that some of the other Iron & Wine albums or LPs are more popular, but this is the one I was able to get at the library, so it is what shall be reviewed.

If you aren't familiar with Iron & Wine, it's essentially the stage name for Sam Beam. Creek is his first full-length album. It's a laid-back semi-Southern album, utilizing a number of secondary instruments (banjo, slide guitar, etc.) but all based around a man with a serious beard and a guitar. It's hard to listen to this and not think of Sam Beam as something of a hippie Nick Drake, if that gives you any idea as to what to expect. This is the album I like to listen to on Friday afternoons when there's nobody else around and I can do what I want at work. It's very laid-back with reserved vocals, perfect for relaxing or just maintaining a good mood. I can't ever imagine Beam going electric, not in the sense that Dylan went electric, but that's okay. I endorse this album fully, even if you'll never find any of these songs on my MP3 player (mostly because it is almost exclusively used at the gym, and for all its virtues, Iron & Wine is lousy workout music.) It's perfect for laying around almost anywhere though.