Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Sam Beam's venturesome The Shepherd's Dog
()
Iron & Wine
The Shepherd's Dog
Sub Pop Records
Release Date: 09/25/2007
Iron & Wine, Sam Beam's moniker, is one of those prolific songwriters that can pump out album after album of, for the most part, flawless tunes. I'd like to think that he just wakes up one day, arbitrarily decides to go into the studio, and then effortlessly bangs them out. On The Shepherd's Dog, Iron & Wine consciously explores a variety of sounds, deviating from the minimal lullaby style of Our Endless Numbered Days. I can't say it sounds as though Beam simply popped out these meticulously crafted songs.
"Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" opens the album, demonstrating a buoyant, transformed Iron and Wine. Repetitious jazz-piano wanders aimlessly, punctuated by reversing sitar-like guitars, and Beam exhibits his lyrical genius: "Now was a promise made of smoke in a frozen coax of dreams." This song justly represents the sonic harbinger of what's to come on The Shepherd's Dog. What an outstanding opening track.
Support for LAist comes from
"White Tooth Man" begins with reverberating sitars and plays out like a psychedelic version of one of their previous porch-style jams, like "Teeth In The Grass" on Our Endless Numbered Days. We see a massive, almost Wilco-like deviation in "Love Song of the Buzzard," incorporating feel-good organ with bluesy slide-guitar. This song fits right into a laid back summer soundtrack because of the heartwarming results.
"Carousel" is a dreamy excursion through the minimal instrumentation and vacillating vocals of Sam Beam. This song exudes the cradle song style which put Iron & Wine on the map. "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)" is a joint effort between Iron & Wine and Calexico. The purely instrumental breaks recall the collaborative jam-band like efforts between both artists displayed previously on In The Reins.
Finally, the clap-heavy single "Boy with a Coin" brings us back to Iron & Wine's folk roots. With clapping overpowering drums, "Boy with a Coin" focuses upon the raspy, layered harmonies of Beam. I can't help but think of Devendra Banhart & Jana Hunter's "A Bright-Ass Light," just a lot less obscured.
If you weren't a huge fan of Iron & Wine prior to this, then I can almost guarantee you'll find something to your liking on this eclectic record. The Shepherd's Dog is an up-beat, mind-expanding peregrination, similar to what Beam must have experienced in writing it.
Although in an interview with Billboard, Beam is quick to retrospectively recognize the expansive yet still sluggish evolution of his records: "I'm already working on the next one. A lot of them, you think you're on the right track, but when it comes time to record, they don't seem different enough." He still manages to maintain a delicate equilibrium between modesty and musical genius that commands and necessitates respect. In all fairness, The Shepherd's Dog is a considerable progression in Sam Beam's wondrous oeuvre.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs. -
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
Best of LAist