The soundtrack to Garden State has exposed several independent bands to a large new audience. Most notable of these acts is The Shins, but the movie has also put Iron & Wine into the limelight. Remember the scene where Zach Braff and Natalie Portman are lying in bed after sex? The song in the background is an acoustic cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" by none other than Iron & Wine.
Iron & Wine is the South Carolina-born Sam Beam, who writes and performs his songs with backup vocals from his sister, Sarah. His 2002 debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle, is a collection of country-folk demos recorded in Beam's bedroom with nothing more than a guitar, a banjo and an abundance of talent. Though Cradle could have been made sixty years ago, its traditional sound struck a chord with modern listeners, quickly ascending the indie charts.
Since then, each consecutive Iron & Wine recording has demonstrated Beam's increasingly refined production and varied instrumentation. 2004's Our Endless Numbered Days brought producer Brian Deck, of Modest Mouse fame, to sharpen the fuzzy sound of Beam's debut while retaining its quiet charm. Now, after a year with Deck, Beam's Woman King continues the evolution of his demure signature sound.
Woman King is Beam's most percussive work to date. While the rhythm section on his previous albums consisted of handclaps and light drumming, Woman King opens with the clicking and clacking of drumsticks, giving it a full band sound unexpected from a one-man band. Similarly, "Gray Stables" chugs along like a locomotive, propelled by bongos and tambourines. It's not exactly party music, but it will get you going in a sort of gentle, swaying motion.
Percussion isn't the only new addition to Iron & Wine's sound. Bells, fiddles, dulcimers and electric guitars all make appearances here. But Beam is careful never to let an excess of instruments clutter his songs -- they retain an airy, open sound with prominent, whispered vocals.
As implied by its title, Woman King is fixated on interpretations of the fairer sex throughout history. The title track ponders the possibility of a female king (not a queen, mind you, but a king) defending her kingdom from an unknown evil. "Jezebel," the EP's best track, recasts the Biblical figure as an idol and source of inspiration, as Beam sings, "Lay here my love/You're the only shape I'll pray to, Jezebel." And "Freedom Hangs Like Heaven" offers consolation to the Virgin Mary: "Anybody knows what the newborn holds/But a dollar says he'll lick that Devil/And do it alone."
Beam is a consistently intelligent songwriter, churning out moving songs that serve as an antidote to overproduced pop and rock music. You may not like country or folk, but Iron & Wine will win you over. Just listen.
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