Photo by Killian Young
Today, Iron & Wine has released Beast Epic, the Sam Beam indie folk project’s first album in four years. Stream the entire thing via Spotify and Apple Music below.
Beast Epic spans 11 tracks and marks Beam’s first proper LP of new material since 2013’s Ghost on Ghost. Soul Coughing’s Sebastian Steinberg contributed to the album alongside Iron & Wine collaborators Rob Burger, Joe Adamik, and Jim Becker. Beam has described the full-length as sharing “a certain kinship with his earlier material.”
“By employing the old discipline of recording everything live and doing minimal overdubbing, I feel like it wears both its achievements and its imperfections on its sleeve,” Beam said about Beast Epic. “Over the years, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with different genres, sonics and songwriting styles and all that traveled distance is evident in the feel and the arrangements here, but the muscles seemed to have relaxed and been allowed to effortlessly do what they do best.”
(Read: Top 21 Songs About Nostalgia)
In his review of the album, Consequence of Sound’s Tyler Clark concludes: “Beast Epic serves as a valuable way point in Iron & Wine’s still-evolving legacy. Whatever sonic paths his next record treads, Beam has proven, to his fans’ great relief, that he’ll always know the way back home.”
Iron & Wine will tour behind Beast Epic through mid-November. Find the complete tour itinerary here.
Beast Epic Artwork:
Beast Epic Tracklist:
01. Claim Your Ghost
02. Thomas County Law
03. Bitter Truth
04. Song in Stone
05. Summer Clouds
06. Call It Dreaming
07. About A Bruise
08. Last Night
09. Right for Sky
10. The Truest Stars We Know
11. Our Light Miles
