Iron and Wine: The Shepherd's Dog

Iron and Wine: The Shepherd's Dog The Shepherd's Dog is Sam Beam's third album as Iron and Wine. The Florida-based singer songwriter has made a career of bare bones folk, but on his third effort he finally expands his sound and makes one of his most exciting records to date. Beam's is still very much the focal point of the album. His words, his voice, and his guitar are Iron and Wine but the addition of bass, drums, steel guitar, and organ take the record to a new level unseen on other Iron and Wine full lengths. Contributors to record includes Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger. When asked to describe the album to The Independent, Beam remarked that "It's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected." Despite how non-promising that description sounds, Beam is a supurb song writer and does it with tact. The expansion of sound is the real story here. It's refreshing to hear a full length by Iron and Wine be this exciting. Rating: 7.8/10 MP3: Iron and Wine "House By the Sea"