Song, by Toad

I remember reviewing Bonnie Prince Billy’s last album, The Letting Go, and being hugely relieved that someone I’d always found far too hushed to quite grab me before seemed to have loosened up, let go a bit, and written some really arresting songs.  And like Will Oldham before him, Sam Beam has here accomplished a similar feat without having to abandon the loveliness for which he is most loved.  The true fans and purists might not be delighted, but I am suddenly able to enjoy someone I had struggled to get into previously.

Now, I don’t know his back catalogue very well, so it’s possible I just picked the wrong record to start with, but there’s a very gentle 70s style Western rock ‘n’ roll permeating this latest album that is really quite gorgeous.  The harmonies and eager piano lift it well above any of the other stuff of Beam’s that I am at all familiar with and I find myself really enjoying it.  It’s possible that there will be people who find this hippy alt-folk style a little too close to the kind of dreamy 70s West Coast easy going stuff that Midlake occasionally get criticised for emulating, and I can sort of see that.

Ultimately though, the gently distorted vocals and gentle rise and fall of the emotional base of the song have made an album that for me is just awash with loveliness.  I should perhaps consider making a more concerted effort to get into Beam’s early stuff if this is what he’s capable of.   And, as an aside, I absolutely love the artwork for this record, and the single which accompanies it as well.

Iron & Wine – Carousel
Iron & Wine – Resurrection Fern

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