About
Lo-fi tapes of hushed acoustic indie rock go together with Miami like
(tanning) oil and (salt) water, spring break and sobriety, Florida governor
Jeb Bush and a problem-free day at the polls. See, what we're saying is they
seem kind of incongruous. But Mr. Samuel Beam, aka Iron & Wine, was living
in Miami crafting just such beguiling home recordings when Jonathan Poneman
of Sub Pop "discovered" him via an indie magazine in Seattle. The mesmerized
Poneman contacted Beam and hounded him for music until Beam finally mailed
him two full-length CDs. Sub Pop almost released both right off the bat, but
instead pared them down into Iron & Wine's debut, The Creek Drank the
Cradle, released in 2002. A hi-fi studio recording (2004's Our
Endless Numbered Days) and a few EPs (including 2005's In the
Rein, a joint effort with Calexico) followed. For 2007's The Shepherd's Dog, Beam beefed up the musicianship, filling songs with eccentric worldly nuances. He then moved from Sub Pop to Warner for 2011's robust Kiss Each Other Clean.
- RDEVITT
