Iron & Wine’s fourth studio album, “Kiss Each Other Clean,” was released on Jan. 25. Samuel Beam, the sole member of the band, has been busy recording and writing new material to make up this new and improved sound.
Beam is most known for his rendition of “Such Great Heights,” which was on the soundtrack of the 2004 film, “Garden State.” And many teenagers melted when his song “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” accompanied the gazebo scene at the end of “Twilight.”
The musician is also famous for songs like “The Trapeze Swinger,” a reminiscent song about the past and childhood memories. People know Beam as a mellow, lyrical artist, and this new album, “Kiss Each Other Clean,” sounds like his old work but with much more intense, emotional lyrics.
Adding to this feeling, “Godless Brother in Love” sounds a great deal like “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” with the exception of more instrumentals. However, many tracks have a very different sound from anything fans have heard from Beam before. “Me and Lazarus” is an extremely catchy, simple tune that has excellent lyrics about Lazarus and what his life was like after being brought back from the dead by Jesus.
“Your Fake Name is Good Enough for Me,” another song that sounds quite different from the usual Iron & Wine routine, is a more jazzy tune that would be perfect for dancing around and having a good time. The song “Walking Far From Home” seems as though it would be on a television show as a sad scene is flashing across the screen.
Beam’s amazing vocals and incredible lyrics are what make his songs as amazing as they are, and one could relate to these lyrics whether they are happy or sad.
Music from Iron & Wine has been featured on many television shows like “The OC,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House” and “Friday Night Lights,” so most of the American television audience is aware of the effect Beam’s melodies can have on people. “Kiss Each Other Clean” is no exception to this.
The only complaint one would be able to find in this new piece of work is that the sound is not very different from what Iron & Wine has done in the past. Some songs may sound different, but for the most part, Beam doesn’t veer too far off his path of mellow songs that put people in relaxing moods.
Maybe that’s not a bad thing, though, as that sound is what he is known for. Regardless of being different or sounding the same from older albums, Iron & Wine’s “Kiss Each Other Clean” is without a doubt going to capture the attention of audiences everywhere and make existing fans fall in love with Beam’s music even more than they already have.
3.5 out of 5 stars
