STARS: 2/5
In the midst of a particularly chaotic back-to-school season, indie-folk singer-songwriter Iron & Wine released an album that could not be any less chaotic, for better or worse.
The album “Beast Epic,” is Iron & Wine’s first solo album in more than four years, as their most recent albums collaborations with Band of Horses lead singer Ben Bridwell and singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop. However, the record — chock-full of slow acoustic crooning — is hardly a stand-out comeback album.
Iron & Wine is the pseudonym for South Carolina native Sam Beam . Beam’s career had humble origins: his 2002 debut album was produced entirely in his home. The soft-spoken, intimate nature of the album is what drew co-founder of Sub Pop Records Jonathan Poneman to work with Beam, according to Pitchfork.
Since then, Beam has had mild success. Those who may not be familiar with the name Iron & Wine are likely to have heard Beam’s work used in popular movies and TV shows such as “Twilight” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
The album begins with “Claim Your Ghost,” a track that sets the mellow, guitar-heavy tone for the rest of the album. The lyric “Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is” is the first of many biblical references that reflect on Beam’s religious upbringing, one from which he has since departed according to The Telegraph.
The next track “Thomas County Law” has a bit of a country, small-town feel. In it, Beam reflects on the passing of time — one of the album’s central themes — particularly in the lyric, “There’s nowhere safe to bury all the time I’ve killed.”
The best track on the album is “Last Night” which opens with a xylophone and violin-filled introduction, unlike any other song on the album. The low-pitched strums continue throughout the song for a soothingly repetitive, yet different track.
The rest of the album’s songs are virtually indistinguishable from one another, acoustic ballad after acoustic ballad. Even Beam’s poetic and reflective lyrics —lyrics that could set him apart from other singers in the genre — are somewhat lost under the acoustics of his guitar and the monotony of the album.
There’s definitely a time and place for “Beast Epic,” particularly in the world of filmography: a dark, rainy afternoon, the beginning of a road trip, playing softly during an emotional montage near the end of an episode. Unfortunately, these moments all use the songs as mere background music, failing to bring Iron & Wine to prominence.
Unless Beam decides to change it up by pushing himself more stylistically — literally picking up the pace — it’s unlikely he’ll ever become more than just that: background music.
Listen to “Beast Epic” below.
