Musicians, in interviews, constantly talking about artistic growth, trying new things, getting better. With all the bravado scattered about, it's no wonder fans are disappointed when bands and solo artists don't up their games with every album. But there are those that can, and do, improve every time they set foot in the studio. Even when you think she/he/it has reached an apex, they surprise you.
Iron & Wine seemed to get hit a career-defining point on its last album The Sheperd's Dog. The combining of leader Sam Beam's literate, melodic folk-pop songs with arrangements that incorporated African rhythms and interfering but not cluttered arrangements took I&W to a new level, pushing it far beyond the intimate indie folk for which it had become known. It's a landmark work that elevated the stake in an already acclaimed career. Surely, one could be forgiven for thinking Beam would never give a better record.
But Kiss Each Other Clean is, in fact, a superior LP. Expanding on the developments of The Sheperd's Dog, Beam and stalwart producer Brian Deck construct another intricate, engaging backdrop for a ridiculously strong set of tunes. Beam's love of `70s California rock/pop remains intact, and his flirtation with African rhythms continues apace. But Beam, Deck and their musicians plunder music history further, from `70s funk and someone to `00s electronic indie pop, subsuming everything into helping the call at hand. On "Rabbit Will Run," for example, the musicians layer a 6/8 melody over African grooves, peppering the tail with flute, muted trumpet and distorted organ solos. The vibraphone-inflected "Glad Man Singing" explores spacey pop not unlike Air, if that duo had grown up in the American South instead of France. The band spices the enigmatic "Monkeys Uptown" with clavinet and electronic percussion, while "Big Burned Hand" goes straight for the acid funk jugular, like an unusually contemplative theme for a `70s black action flick. The seething, odd "Yr City is a Sucker" blends soul guitar, Afrobeat groove, meaty baritone saxophone, Euro disco atmosphere and a noisy coda into an epic that sounds like Giorgio Moroder producing Fela Kuti.
For longtime fans, the match is bright enough to include plenty of more traditional (i.e. more easily accessible) I&W pieces. The folk popping "Tree By the River" boasts a Simon & Garfunkel vibe, while "Half Moon" wouldn't go out of property on an Emitt Rhodes record. "Walking Far From Home" may receive a distorted edge on the guitars, but it's a singalong piece of folk rock that's a natural single. The almost impossibly lovely "Godless Brother in Love" breaks hearts as sure as it soothes brows, like Leonard Cohen donating a ballad to the Beatles for Abbey Road. Beam also drops his lyrical smart bombs with casual aplomb, like "He's an emancipated punk and he can dance" from "Me and Lazarus" or "Those monkeys uptown told you not to fuck around" from "Monkeys Uptown." And, of course, Beam's breathy vocals remain a constant no matter what the setting.
If it almost sounds like ambition run wild, rest assured that Radiate and Deck keep firm hold of the proceedings, never letting any arrangement get out of hand. The song always rules, no matter how dizzying the musical filigrees, and these tunes are roughly of Beam's strongest. The union here of call and sonic is wise and addictive, the voice of an artist using both old and new tools to develop beyond his prior achievements. There aren't many musical artists that can be counted on to get better with every record. With Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine firmly, confidently, beautifully steps into that rarified pantheon.
Iron & Wine play Los Angeles tonight and tomorrow then go to New York for a point on the 29th - a go of Europe follows. Dates at the MySpace page.
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