The Shepherd's Dog

Today's Music That Jason Is Fond Of happens to be The Shepherd's Dog, by Iron & Wine. No real snappy intro today, just note that as Iron & Wine is technically Sam Beam, I'll probably use the band/stage name and the artist's name interchangeably in the following paragraph(s). Also, Sam Beam has a huge, thick shrubbery of a beard.

The Shepherd's Dog represents a departure from the earlier Iron & Wine albums, something that was hinted at on Beam's collaboration with Calexico (In the Reins) in the recent past. This can't be much of a surprise, though; as the Iron & Wine sound basically began as one man with hushed, Neil Young-sounding vocals and a single acoustic guitar, there wasn't really anywhere to go with the sound but to add more elements.

While I am partial to the earlier Iron & Wine albums, I think that The Shepherd's Dog succeeds in its own right. It still maintains a very organic, Southern sound, but doesn't lose much with the addition of the other instruments. Some of the arrangements are a little out there, but as a whole the album is pretty good (if not great). "Boy With A Coin" is probably as accessible as any track on the album, and it's certainly listenable - it probably represents what you should expect from this album as much as any individual song does.

So in short: The Shepherd's Dog doesn't have the minimalist charm of earlier Iron & Wine albums, but it hasn't lost its soul, and is worth listening to if you're an Iron & Wine fan (or if you just like music with acoustic guitars and such).

In Other News:
FOUR TET HECK YES

Also, don't let me get discouraged. It's all small stuff, really.

Did I mention that the film version of McCarthy's The Road comes out this year? I can't remember the last time I was actually looking forward to a movie. Actually, that's not true - it was the last Wes Anderson movie. I'm so white.