Iron & Wine – Hens Teeth (Vinyl)

Indie-folk iconSam Beam, aka Iron & Wine, presents a new studio album filled with gorgeous, naturalistic Americana. Includes two collaborations with Im With Her.

Ive always wanted to use that title, Sam Beam says of Hens Teeth, his eighth full-length album and his sixth for Sub Pop Records. I just love it. To me it suggests the impossible. Hens teeth do not exist. And thats what this record felt like: a gift that shouldnt be there but it is. An impossible thing but its real.

Hens Teeth and his previous album, Light Verse, are siblings of a sort. They were recorded during the same sessions after a year-long dry spell, with the same band, at Waystation studio in Laurel Canyon. When Ive been on a writing kick, and the band can meet me where Im at, they push me into something I hadnt imagined. Im at a point in my life where spontaneity is a lot more important to me. I dont have as much to prove as I used to. Im a lot freer and I love making music more than ever. There are no right or wrong answers. You just pray for your luck and try your best.

In this case prayers were answered and luck struck hard. The musicians cohered so quickly and inspired each other so much that they were often getting songs recorded in just a few takes, sometimes at the rate of two or three per day. The two albums might therefore be thought of as fraternal twins: they share DNA and complement each other but have distinct identities and are defined as much by their differences as their similarities.

Transparent White Vinyl – Initial LOSER pressing

Tracklist:
01. Roses
02. Paper and Stone
03. Robin’s Egg (feat. I’m With Her)
04. Singing Saw
05. In Your Ocean
06. Defiance, Ohio
07. Wait Up (feat. I’m With Her)
08. Grace Notes
09. Dates and Dead People
10. Half Measures