Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog CD

Since his first album in 2002, Iron & Wine mastermind Sam Beam has remained consistent in both the quality and the general approach of his songwriting, but his production techniques have expanded gradually outward with each release. If the aforementioned, unadorned debut was Beam's MEET THE BEATLES, SHEPHERD'S DOG is undoubtedly his SGT. PEPPER. It bears full-blown kaleidoscopic arrangements that utilize Eastern tonalities, a panoply of effects, atmospheric textures, and exotic percussion; the results can only be called psychedelic folk, but SHEPHERD'S DOG, with its carefully crafted tunes and backing, bears little relation to the usual psych-folk suspects. While fans of Animal Collective et al., will be able to relate, the album owes more to the great art-folk singer-songwriter recordings of the late '60s/early '70s.

Audio Mixer: Brian Deck.Rolling Stone (p.77) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Beam finally brings the blood, instrumental colors and quirky but fluid arrangements that make explicit the worry and wounds running red in his Southern-gothic stories and dead-love letters."
Spin (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] gorgeous melange of world percussions, electric strings, and airy harmonies that continues the expansion of his sound..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.107) - "[I]t becomes clear that he's added dimension to his style without sacrificing its gorgeous tranquility." -- Grade: A-
Q (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Like quicksand, it's subtle, surprising and utterly absorbing."
Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e has recast his music, adding rhythms and a fullness of sound....It is, by any measure, a quiet revolution....In the midst of his despair, evidently Sam Beam found hope."
Alternative Press (p.162) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "He's expanded his instrumental repertoire considerably, creating a study in measured quietude....Beam conjures yet another hypnotic dreamworld..."
Magnet (p.98) - "By maintaining his intimacy while armed with a full palette of colors, Beam sets himself far apart from the rest of the hush-and-shush crowd."
No Depression (p.95) - "In its mild, stubborn way, it's the fizziest record Beam has made yet....Beam can turn a phrase more deftly than almost any of his direct compatriots...."