Iron And Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
- Written by Rosie Duffield
At first listen, Iron and Wine’s new offering sounded like an upbeat version of something James Blunt might release. I wondered what I’d got myself into. Several play-throughs later, though, and something clicked.
Kiss Each Other Clean is not, as it may first appear, James Blunt-esque. In fact, it’s a rollercoaster of strange – but nonetheless enjoyable – folk-rock funk. Yes, funk. Somewhat surprising for a singer who made his name through sparse, intimate numbers and being likened to folk artists such as Simon and Garfunkel and Nick Drake.
Beam’s last album, The Shepherd’s Dog (released in 2007), was the first step toward the sound we hear today. Experimenting with layered textures and rhythms, it was the foundation for this release – where heavy bass lines, saxophones and flute all play a part at some point.
Whilst the music may surprise, the storytelling we’ve come to know and love from Iron & Wine still shines through as it always has. Album opener ‘Walking Far From Home’ tells the tale of a journey; bleak, dreamlike, at points almost religious: “I saw sunlight on the water/Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky”, and: “Saw a car crash in the country/where the prayers run like weeds along the road.” Before you have a chance to contemplate the balance of good and evil, ugly and beautiful, ‘Me And Lazarus’ kicks in with a gentle groove, complete with funky bass line and ‘70s style saxophone interjections.
Again, the narration in ‘Tree By The River’ takes on a life of its own. The story of a teenage romance captures the yearning and expectation perfectly: “Maryanne, do you remember/ the tree by the river/ when we were 17?” asks Beam, “I was coy in the half moon/happy just to be with you/and you were happy for me.”
Funk returns in a big way on ‘Big Burned Hand’. Almost like a throwback TV theme tune, it has a slippery saxophone riff throughout, and an ambling bass line making its way through the song with the help of a relaxed drum beat. Despite the jolliness of the song, however, its topic is somewhat less jovial. In fact about the terrors of war, the lyrics bring you back down to earth with a bump: “When the winsome god of war/came to set me free/he had a couple of coke bottles full of gasoline/singing “all I love is all that I allow”/and he blew me a kiss off a big burned hand/I nearly choked with smoke and fell down.”
The track sums up the album; an upbeat exterior masking dark undertones throughout. Beam has created a record which is very listener friendly by experimenting musically and making himself somewhat more commercial. But his lyrics are still compelling, and by jazzing up a lot of their packaging, they are likely to get lost compared to his previously stripped down style.
Still, Kiss Each Other Clean is a triumphant record, plenty full of things to keep the listener occupied. If this is how Iron & Wine is progressing, I can’t wait to see what he’ll be doing in another ten years’ time.