For 'The Shepherd’s Dog', Iron & Wine main man Sam Beam called upon the talents of past collaborators Calexico and jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger to produce a disarmingly pretty album.

The presence of Calexico is immediately apparent in the rich, warm sound that shimmers with layers of plucked and slide guitar. Vocally, Beam continues to mine a rich and occasionally exquisite vein of melody previously accessed by Nick Drake, whose wistful and soft but strong vocal style Beam shares.

The lyrics are as well crafted as the music, enigmatically presenting fables that follow characters through little narratives.
‘I’d hint to her every possibility, While with his gun the pagan angel rose to say, "My love is one made to break every bended knee"’ from opener 'Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car’ just about says it all – the hint is everything, but the menace of a

gun is rarely far away, despite the beauty and delicacy of the arrangements. The album obliquely furrows its brow at the second terms of the Bush administration, but is hardly 'American Idiot', resisting the desperate hectoring of some peers in favour of metaphor and myth.

Review by Holly Wild
www.ironandwine.com / www.transgressiverecords.co.uk