Beast Epic – Iron & Wine

I have been running a little behind on new releases since my life has been a little bit crazy this past month. What with coming back from camp and choosing to make some big changes in my life I have been struggling to sit down and write. But here I am and let’s jump into some new tunes!

Iron & Wine is made up of one man, Samuel Ervin Beam, who became known as Iron & Wine in 2002 when he released his first album, The Creek Drank the Cradle. He now has eight studio albums under his belt as well as several EP’s, live albums, and collaboration albums. You would find Iron & Wine playing in most hipster coffee shops and I wouldn’t be surprised if your friends plays Iron & Wine on the guitar while you’re around the fire at night…I can’t get mine to stop.

The new Iron & Wine came out in late August of this year, much to my excitement. His new album, Beast Epic, holds notes of his older work but with more studio time and less living room recording sessions…or at least that’s my impression.

Beast Epic has a soft center with a sharp edge. The songs are beautiful and poignant with hidden thorns that pierce your heart. One line in particular that stood out to me was, “you’d better love yourself cause I tried,” from the third song on the album, Bitter Truth. Beast Epic is full of emotion and it’s a good companion for anyone going through a tough emotional situation. The album holds the classic Iron & Wine guitar licks and harmonies that accompany the bewitching lyrics.

Iron & Wine has created yet another work of art that I will be listening to for many years to come and I hope this inspires you to download or buy some of his music in the future.