By KAREN JAEN
Samuel Beam, the only member of Iron and Wine, released his fifth album, Kiss Each Other Clean, Tuesday, Jan. 25.
The album features uplifting and poppy songs which is a new direction for Iron and Wine. In the previous albums, the music had small hints at pop but kept the classic rock feel. However, the soft drum beats, electric guitar and chorus of doo whops in the background give the music a friendly feel. Songs such as “Half Moon” also have an influence from 70s music, the song sounds like something that could’ve been played 30 years ago on a family friendly radio station.
Beam took a new direction to clearly mark his change to a major record label, Warner Bros. Each song sounds different from the next but all have a cohesive feel. With whispered words on optimism the music has an uplifting feel, appropriate for a day on the beach. However, some of the lyrics suggest a dark, haunting romance between him and a mystery girl.
It is obvious that Iron and Wine is attempting a more mainstream feel to the music, songs on the album such as “Glad Man Singing” seem overproduced; Beam attempts to steer away from his whispered singing to higher notes which lowers the quality of the album.
For those unfamiliar with the band, the song “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” was featured in the first Twilight soundtrack; it is the song that Edward and Bella dance to at prom.
Overall, Iron and Wine’s album is a good attempt at becoming mainstream but fans of the band may feel like the music featured is too far a direction from the its previous albums. It’s a feel good album appropriate for listening to on a relaxing day.
To listen click on the graphic above or go to http://hilights.org/music/gladmansinging.m4a