Upbeat isn\u2019t necessarily the first word that comes to mind when it comes to describing Sam Beam\u2019s music. But the singer-songwriter, who records and performs under the name Iron & Wine, does have his moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take, for instance, \u201cSweet Talk,\u201d a standout track from his 2024 album Light Verse<\/em>. One of the most beguiling songs from across his seven studio albums, it stays in your head long after hearing it on record, and even more so after hearing it live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely one of the more upbeat ones,\u201d the five-time Grammy nominee said in an early March interview. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to have a song like that in your pocket. I\u2019ll be in front of a bunch of people playing more quiet gentle music, and then I\u2019ve got ones like that to pull out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, there\u2019s more going on in the song, whose lilting folk-pop choruses include lines like these: \u201cLet\u2019s bow, bow and scrape \/ Sucker punching straight into the face \/ Of a wonderful life, of a wonderful life.\u201d Beam\u2019s lyrical approach can be, well, complicated. Kind of like life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou want to make something that feels accessible, but is also complicated, like we are,\u201d he said. \u201cI like elements that give you a reason to listen to it twice. You feel like you want to hone in on whether there\u2019s a clear, concise message or not. It just makes you want to hear or think about it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This month, Beam and Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses released a new covers EP, \u201cMaking Good Time.\u201d And on Sept. 22, Iron & Wine and Band of Horses share a bill at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a five-year gap between Light Verse<\/em> and Years to Burn<\/em>, Iron & Wine\u2019s 2019 collaboration with the desert-rock band Calexico. A big reason for that was the COVID pandemic and its aftermath, during which Beam was grappling with what he describes as \u201csongwriting paralysis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was so much anxiety and fear of the disease and the political aspect of it all,\u201d said the South Carolina native. \u201cI would start a lot of songs, but I had a hard time finding the focus to wrap them up. So I just put it away for a while, accepted where I was at, and did other things. I made some artwork and hung out with my kids for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for Beam\u2019s loyal legion of fans, it was well worth the wait. Light Verse<\/em> pairs his poetic, often poignant songs with understated string arrangements that bring to mind early Nick Drake. \u201cMy friend Paul Cartwright plays violin and mandolin, which are strung the same way,\u201d said Beam. \u201cHe would overdub his own instruments, and then he would stack strings on top of that. So there\u2019s three or four songs he wrote charts for that we recorded with a 24-piece orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beam also credits the influence of the Brazilian singer Gal Costa, whom he once described as this album\u2019s \u201cspirit animal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cActually, she\u2019s the spirit animal for my entire life,\u201d Beam said. \u201cHer albums\u2019 strings and acoustic instruments, and the way the band interacts with the melody, it\u2019s like folk instrumentation meets contemporary chamber music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A central figure in Brazil\u2019s tropicalia movement of the 1960s, Costa and her contemporaries\u2014a number of whom went into self-exile\u2014were part of the resistance to their country\u2019s authoritarian dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s definitely their most well-known music, because it was so controversial,\u201d said Beam, who feels that, in some cases, their subsequent work was just as good or better. \u201cWhen it comes to my own songs, even though I\u2019m obsessed with politics, I\u2019m also bored to death with them. They don\u2019t make me want to write a song, they make me want to beat my head against the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iron & Wine and Band of Horses play at 7:30pm on Sept 22 at the Mountain Winery, Saratoga. $67-$294. <\/em>mountainwinery.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Upbeat isn\u2019t necessarily the first word that comes to mind when it comes to describing Sam Beam\u2019s music. But the singer-songwriter, who records and performs under the name Iron & Wine, does have his moments. Take, for instance, \u201cSweet Talk,\u201d a standout track from his 2024 album Light Verse. One of the most beguiling songs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20184149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[34],"tags":[20562,20561,20563],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n