IRON & WINE —- “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me” (Kiss Each Other Clean, 2011)

Iron & Wine is back with a brand new album, Kiss Each Other Clean, officially out January 25. I’ve given Kiss Each Other Clean a few listens all the way through and I’m more than pleased with the stylistic changes Sam Beam has made to his band’s sound. It’s even more of a “zag” for Iron & Wine’s sound, which has been growing and evolving ever since their beautiful, yet divisive, release in 2007, The Shepherd’s Dog. The “zag” is enjoyable, though. This does not come across as a folk singer “selling out.” Instead, it glows with the joy of an artist letting his work grow in whatever direction feels right, exploring the vibrant colors in the rest of his palette.

If people were taken aback by the new textures and sounds found on the last Iron & Wine album, The Shepherd’s Dog, they’re bound to be even further polarized by Kiss Each Other Clean. While adding a variety of new elements to the mix on The Shepherd’s Dog, the album was still clearly based in folk. Gone are the gentle banjo ballads and Sam Beam whispering his poetic lyrics. The new album features the thickest instrumentation ever on an Iron & Wine album, along with the strongest vocals. Kiss Each Other Clean only occasionally hints at its creator’s folk roots, mostly glistening in the sheen of retro pop.

Album closer “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me” perhaps best represents the shift in Iron & Wine’s sound. It is heavy on the saxophone and jazz influences, really exhibiting a culmination of the influence of 70s pop music on the album. The song itself is seven minutes long and moves through a wide range of sounds and moods. The track begins lightheartedly enough but about halfway through a shift in mood is quickly signified by a heavy drum break. At that point, it turns into something darker, something more ominous — the drum and guitar work gets more traditionally rock than I think has ever been heard in an Iron & Wine track.

Overall the album is an interesting progression in Iron & Wine’s sound that I think feels organic and well crafted — certainly deserving of a listen from any fan who may have been on the fence after The Shepherd’s Dog.