Very few times in my life have I been so taken aback by an album as I was by Samuel Beam, more commonly known as Iron & Wine’s fifth album. When I popped Kiss Each Other Clean into my computer I was fully expecting the same folksy tin can sound I love and everyone else thinks is boring, to come flowing back at me. What I actually heard was jarring. The usual acoustic guitar was replaced with a piano, a drum set, and electric feedback on “Walking Far From Home,” causing me to write question marks followed by exclamations after almost everything in my notes.
The funky baseline, psychedelic electric guitar on the following track “Me and Lazarous” actually made me double check the album cover to make sure I was in fact listening to Iron & Wine and not Peter Framton’s Frampton Comes Alive. But as my confusion and shock subsided, I realized that my foot was tapping happily along with this strange Shaft-inspired tune.
While I approved of this funky, fresh sound I heard, I was still waiting to hear the poetic lyrics that make me love Iron & Wine so much. My wish was granted in the song “Tree by the River,” an upbeat track featuring a xylophone. With lyrics like “Mary Anne, do you remember the tree by the river when we were 17? Dark canyon road, I was coy in the half moon. Happy just to be with you, and you were happy for me,” it became evident that his lyrics are as romantic as ever.
Not all of the poignant lyrics on the album have to do with young love. The track “Rabbit Will Run” makes a statement about keeping faith with lyrics like, “We’ve all heard the rooster and all been denied and we’ve seen through the spit in our eyes and I still have a prayer, a well-weatherd word to the wise.”
Even though this track sports ideas typical for those of Iron & Wine, the sound is far from typical. The most unique song on Kiss Each Other Clean, however, would have to be the track “Big Burned Hand.” With an introduction featuring a jazz saxophone, the song was different from anything Iron & Wine had ever done from the very beginning.
While this album is far from the norm, loyal fans like myself will realize that different can be a good thing after overcoming the initial shock and confusion. As for listeners who have been bored with Iron & Wine’s albums in the past, I urge you to give them another chance. If anything, I can guarantee that the album is everything but boring.