Iron & Wine’s Samuel Ervin Beam, has an outstanding voice and at 49-years-old released his seventh full-length album Light Verse which is a complex yet peaceful array of songs.
Upon the first listen to Light Verse, one could only hope that the rest would be as good as the first song, “You Never Know.” The production builds through the four minutes and fifty seconds as Beam simultaneously builds up the life of who the song is about.
The third song on this album, “All in Good Time,” with the help of Fiona Apple, is about looking back on the positive and negative things that they accomplished in their lifetime. It is almost hard to tell if they have enjoyed their lives or not; a very powerful topic to sing about, and they did it beautifully.
“Taken by Surprise” is painful in the best way possible. This song encompasses the feelings that come up when thinking about someone who changed a life, but is not present in it anymore: “She wasn’t there and then she was / that lightning hit the ground without a warning.” Beam is connecting his lyrics, “I don’t get taken by surprise anymore,” with the way that he is singing the song — steady and consistent.
The orchestra in “Yellow Jacket” completely transforms this song. Although this is a relatively lighter song lyrically, the production is one of the best on the album. Beam’s vocals branch into deeper registers, often soft spoken, that complements the finger-plucked banjo and other instrumental elements of the song very well.
“Sweet Talk” is way happier than the rest of the album. Beam is proposing the idea of a “wonderful life” and all of the carefree, joyful moments of life that he yearns to jump into. A deep bass line throttles beneath the acoustic instrumentation here, providing a solid strum to which the more whimsical aspects of the song can tether themselves to.
Switching up, the next song “Tears That Don’t Matter” is twisting in every way possible, creating an eerie sound at times. This song sounds like a movie soundtrack; it has countless surprises and so many elements that all come together to find their own harmonious sound. The cinematic crescendos almost act like a bridge between the branches of genre he is touching upon instrumentally.
The last song on the album, “Angels Go Home,” is a great way to close out. It is an absolutely beautiful song with almost symphonic strings and a gentle piano energy that twinkles and flows throughout.
Iron & Wine has a very special way of storytelling, and that shows in the outstanding productions on Light Verse. After listening to this album, it is in fact as good as the first song.
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