Iron & Wine -- The Shepherd's Dog

Now that it's been out for a bit, what does everyone think of this?

To my ears it sounds nice enough but I don't know if it's as good as Woman King.

i didn't like his stuff much before this one. too unassuming or subtle or something. this one i like, all the sitar and psych flourishes and stuff. but since i never got into him before, i'm probably not the best judge

I've enjoyed it greatly.

Love the album.

I'm glad he's abandoned that soft "let me lay my beard on your shoulder" style of singing and replaced it with a louder, more projected style.

I was worried his delicate songs would break under the weight of the extra instrumentation. But, as it turns out, I think the more robust sound really benefits his songs (in unexpected ways).

"Boy With A Coin" is a "Buy U A Drank" ripoff

Not surprising. Iron & Wine rips off all his songs from T-Pain.

I've had this album for months now, and I've been really enjoying it but it's only now the clocks have gone forward that it's starting to sink in properly.

House By The Sea is becoming my go-to song on this disc. Such an unexpected sound for Sam Beam; It's almost highlife!

I was frustrated with the lyrics on Sheppard's Dog for a while, since they are harder (for me) to interpret than the lyrics on Iron & Wine's prior discs, but now I've let that feeling go and the poetry in these lyrics is opening up for me a bit more.

two years later and i love house by the sea even more now.

new disc -- kiss each other clean -- arrives early next year. can't wait.

new album out january 25. maybe i'll start a thread on it, but i figure it would only appeal to maybe four or five posters. i think beam's an amazing talent, and i like the sound now that, more and more, he's fleshing out the instrumentation and arrangements.

Nice! Didn't know he had a new one coming out (although it has been awhile). Have you heard the assorted b-sides disc that was released about a year ago? I haven't checked it out yet, but read some good things about it.

thread for the new one over here: Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

i'd almost forgotten about Iron and Wine. Going back to some of their stuff now and it's still really good. one of these mid-2000s hype bands that haven't aged badly at all.