Out today from crooner Iron & Wine is a two disc B-sides and rarities album, “Around the Well”. Iron & Wine is probably my favorite artist that I have yet to see live; for some reason it just hasn’t happened even though I adore Sam Beam’s calming voice and lovely melodies. As a fairly casual fan (in that I don’t collect all the singles) I am pleased to see the release of these songs. It’s a well put together mix of tracks you may not have heard before as well as a couple of covers that have become familiar to most indie music fans, such as “Such Great Heights”, the hit originally done by The Postal Service back in 2004. The highlight of this comp for me is the cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes” – it sounds exactly how you’d expect it to, a slowed down, meandering version with Sam’s personal touch that still has great respect for the original.

I’d also like to note that this album closes out with the epic nine-minute fan favorite, “The Trapeze Swinger”. This song made me a fan of Iron & Wine; it can also be found on the soundtrack to the movie In Good Company, starring Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson. I happened to catch the film on TV awhile after it was released, having taken a sick day from work, and I remember the song playing during the credits and sitting there listening intently and falling in love with it. It’s a beautiful song and even with its length, you’ll find yourself sad when it finally ends.

Iron & Wine have played a few dates this month and are hitting some festivals to support the release of this album, in the US and Canada.

Jul 9 – Ottawa Blues Fest, Ottawa, Ontario
Jul 10 – Winnipeg Folk Festival, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jul 23 – Calgary Folk Festival, Calgary, Alberta
Aug 1 – George Wein’s Folk Festival 50, Newport, Rhode Island
Aug 7 – Regina Folk Festival, Regina, Saskatchewan
Aug 8 – Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton, Alberta
Aug 15 – Philadelphia Folk Festival, Schwenksville, Pennsylvania

 

 Iron & Wine - Love Vigilantes: Play Now

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