Displaying items by tag: Iron & Wine

XPN CD of the Month - May, 2013

There is a breeziness, a coolness and an ease that casts itself over this collection.

Much is made of the evolution of Sam Beam and his musical endeavors as Iron & Wine. A career that started over a decade ago as a delicate solo songwriter, Beam has matured into a band leader with robust artistic vision.

Too much is often made of an artist’s jump from an indie to a major label. For fear of tainted artistic vision or imposed guidelines, ‘purists’ hold their collective breath in the weeks (or months) leading up to an albums release. But to be fair, there is a recent track record of success when you think of artists like The Decemberists or Death Cab for Cutie who have arguably made some of the best albums of their careers since making such a move. And with that, Iron and Wine is the latest indie darling to successfully make the transition to a major label with his most confident and expansive album to date, Kiss Each Other Clean.