Sound: The Shepherd’s Dog is by far the lushest and most diverse Iron and Wine album. Sam Beam’s whispery vocals float over a mix of breezy acoustic folk and fingerpickin’ hoedowns, plus a psychedelic rocker, a dub-flavored groove and a bluesy boogie. Regardless of the genre or rhythm, the production is full of colors including dreamy piano, mysterious sitar, forlorn pedal steel, flickering guitar and more.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Innocent Bones”; “White Tooth Man”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Resurrection Fern”; “House By the Sea”; “Boy With A Coin”; “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)”; “The Devil Never Sleeps”
Recommended: Those who loved Iron and Wine for the lo-fi simplicity of their early work may be startled by the rich layers of sound on The Shepherd’s Dog. But nothing feels overproduced here. The album shows off a band successfully expanding its possibilities.
Grade: B+

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