At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.
Have I found you?
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big bill looming
The Shepherd’s Dog served as my introduction to Iron & Wine. When I gave this record a spin for the first time in the early part of the last decade, I was unsure what to expect. I also didn’t fully comprehend the world I was about to enter.
For a few years, I had been flirting with the sounds of Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes. Beyond that, I hadn’t dug any deeper into the roots revival or the storied sounds of Americana. Iron & Wine would serve as my gateway drug. This record would take me by the hand and lead me down a path that would reach all the way back to Robert Johnson. Traveling forward to the present day, I would dance with Woody Guthrie, spend hours lost in the sounds of Pete Seeger, and I would get lost in the poetry of Bob Dylan. I would also discover new, emerging, and underground artists who are carrying the torch and keeping the rich tradition of American folk music alive.
But why? Why was this album the catalyst for such a journey? Quite simply, it was Sam Beam’s songwriting. Each song on this album painted beautiful tapestries filled with interesting characters and stories all their own. Nothing on this album is given easily or freely. It begs for repeated listening and intense focus. All these years later, I am still uncovering hidden meanings, messages, and stories buried in the lyrics. Almost without exception, what I discover can be applied to my own life. That feels special to me, and to find it in an American art form stripped of overly produced instrumentation, vocal trickery, and electronic distractions hooked me.
This album does more than tell stories with song, poetry, and prose. It also possesses moments when the pace is accelerated, and the result becomes a jam. I assume many think of folk music as dour and self-reflective. It can be, and that is often what attracts me to the genre, but it can also let its hair down, party, and let loose. Your troubles can be moved to the back burner, and you are encouraged to let the spirit move you.
For me, this album is a celebration of the singer/songwriter. There are an army of people out there who would have you believe this sort of creator is a rare or extinct bird in the world of music. I don’t think they are digging deeply enough. Mired in a world of popular music, you are bound to be disappointed. But if you allow an album such as this to unlock a world of music discovery, I am positive you will begin to see music differently.
Be good to each other,
Nathan