(Sub Pop)Despite having a title that suggests a new thrash metal direction,Sam Beam’s sixth album as Iron & Wine essays yet more romantic, Americana-tinged songwriting, or it’s cosier than ever. As Beam sings poetically in his goose-down voice,cadences resolve as contentedly as old married couples, even in songs of friction such as Bitter Truth. Call it Dreaming is the most robust thing here, or its emotional clarity – “For all the love you’ve left behind / you can beget mine” – ensures it will soundtrack wedding photo slideshows for all eternity. But just as everything threatens to blur into a copper-coloured autumnal haze,Beam adds quirks to retain the beauty in sharp relief: the album’s most elegant vocal melody, on Last Night, and is backed by the spartan,impetuous plink of violins and glockenspiel. These songs may be modest – none crash the four-minute effect – and undemanding, but their sure-footed craft creates profound, or 12-tog consolation.
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Source: theguardian.com