May 7 street date. "Archive Series Volume No. 5: Tallahassee" is the lost-in-time debut album from Iron & Wine. A collection of songs recorded three years prior to his official Sub Pop debut, "The Creek Drank the Cradle" (2002). A period before the concept of Iron & Wine existed and principal songwriter Sam Beam was studying at Florida State University with the intent of pursuing a career in film. "Tallahassee Recordings" documents the very first steps on a journey that would lead to a career as one of America's most original and distinctive singer-songwriters. "Creek" arrived like a thief in the night with its lo-fi, hushed vocals and intimate nature, while almost inversely "Tallahassee" comes with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps an almost youthful discretion that likely comes from being too young to know better and too naïve to give a shit. The recordings themselves are more polished than "Creek" and give a peek into what a studio version of that record might have offered up.
May 7 street date. "Archive Series Volume No. 5: Tallahassee" is the lost-in-time debut album from Iron & Wine. A collection of songs recorded three years prior to his official Sub Pop debut, "The Creek Drank the Cradle" (2002). A period before the concept of Iron & Wine existed and principal songwriter Sam Beam was studying at Florida State University with the intent of pursuing a career in film. "Tallahassee Recordings" documents the very first steps on a journey that would lead to a career as one of America's most original and distinctive singer-songwriters. "Creek" arrived like a thief in the night with its lo-fi, hushed vocals and intimate nature, while almost inversely "Tallahassee" comes with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps an almost youthful discretion that likely comes from being too young to know better and too naïve to give a shit. The recordings themselves are more polished than "Creek" and give a peek into what a studio version of that record might have offered up.
May 7 street date. "Archive Series Volume No. 5: Tallahassee" is the lost-in-time debut album from Iron & Wine. A collection of songs recorded three years prior to his official Sub Pop debut, "The Creek Drank the Cradle" (2002). A period before the concept of Iron & Wine existed and principal songwriter Sam Beam was studying at Florida State University with the intent of pursuing a career in film. "Tallahassee Recordings" documents the very first steps on a journey that would lead to a career as one of America's most original and distinctive singer-songwriters. "Creek" arrived like a thief in the night with its lo-fi, hushed vocals and intimate nature, while almost inversely "Tallahassee" comes with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps an almost youthful discretion that likely comes from being too young to know better and too naïve to give a shit. The recordings themselves are more polished than "Creek" and give a peek into what a studio version of that record might have offered up.
November 17 street date. Iron & Wine's "Who Can See Forever" is an accompanying live record to the 2023 film of the same name. Captured at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, the soundtrack features nineteen songs from the twenty plus year career of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Having found inventive ways to re-invent his catalogue live over the years, "Who Can See Forever" offers new and fresh versions of Iron & Wine songs including "The Trapeze Swinger", "Boy With A Coin", and "Naked As We Came". The film - initially intended as a live concert film - evolved into a visual portrait capturing Beam during a creative outburst that earned him four Grammy nominations in four years. Like his music, the film touches on universally personal themes as Beam juggles being an artist, husband and father. Taken as one, the soundtrack and film are a fascinating first-time glimpse behind-the-scenes of Iron & Wine.
November 17 street date. Iron & Wine's "Who Can See Forever" is an accompanying live record to the 2023 film of the same name. Captured at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, the soundtrack features nineteen songs from the twenty plus year career of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Having found inventive ways to re-invent his catalogue live over the years, "Who Can See Forever" offers new and fresh versions of Iron & Wine songs including "The Trapeze Swinger", "Boy With A Coin", and "Naked As We Came". The film - initially intended as a live concert film - evolved into a visual portrait capturing Beam during a creative outburst that earned him four Grammy nominations in four years. Like his music, the film touches on universally personal themes as Beam juggles being an artist, husband and father. Taken as one, the soundtrack and film are afascinating first-time glimpse behind-the-scenes of Iron & Wine.
April 26 street date. When the pandemic began, and the world shut down, so did the process of creating for Iron & Wine's Sam Beam. In its place was a domesticity that the singer hadn't felt in a long time, and although it was filled with many rewards, making music was not one of them. The journey back began with a recording session in Memphis to record a handful of Lori McKenna tracks for the EP "Lori" with friend and producer Matt Ross-Spang. The cathartic experience reconnected Beam with his love for making music, and soon enough the paralysis had passed, and he was finishing lyrics and booking studio time for what would become "Light Verse". Beam lyrically once again takes focus on a series of both fictional and personal insights, filled with desperate characters and wide-eyed optimists, offering promise and a dose of heartache, tears and laughter, life and love. While this may be Iron & Wine's most playful record, Beam says the title mostly reflects the way the songs were born with joy after the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic. Fashioned as an album that should be taken as a whole, it sounds lovingly handmade and self-assured as a secret handshake.
April 26 street date. When the pandemic began, and the world shut down, so did the process of creating for Iron & Wine's Sam Beam. In its place was a domesticity that the singer hadn't felt in a long time, and although it was filled with many rewards, making music was not one of them. The journey back began with a recording session in Memphis to record a handful of Lori McKenna tracks for the EP "Lori" with friend and producer Matt Ross-Spang. The cathartic experience reconnected Beam with his love for making music, and soon enough the paralysis had passed, and he was finishing lyrics and booking studio time for what would become "Light Verse". Beam lyrically once again takes focus on a series of both fictional and personal insights, filled with desperate characters and wide-eyed optimists, offering promise and a dose of heartache, tears and laughter, life and love. While this may be Iron & Wine's most playful record, Beam says the title mostly reflects the way the songs were born with joy after the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic. Fashioned as an album that should be taken as a whole, it sounds lovingly handmade and self-assured as a secret handshake.
March 24 street date. "Lori" finds Iron & Wine's Sam Beam drawing from the songbook of noted singer-songwriter and multiple Grammy winner Lori McKenna. Recorded at the famed Sam Phillips Studios (Memphis, TN) with producer Matt Ross-Spang, Beam takes on four of his favorite McKenna tracks with help from Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, known collectively for their work in the indie-art-pop band Finom (formerly known as Ohmme). Cunningham and Stewart bring their own touches to "Lori" and helped Beam find even further depths to McKenna's songwriting. Together the trio sonically re-interpreted her plaintive odes into a tapestry of sounds - effortlessly blending their signature singing styles and breathing fresh life into the lyrics. 4 tracks. Limited to 2000 copies.