Preview: The Shepherd's Dog

Acoustic wonder Sam Beam is back next week with album number three, the Shepherd's Dog, his first work as Iron & Wine since 2004's Our Endless Numbered Days. This album represents a large jump in style from his prior works, especially 2002's The Creek Drank The Cradle, from a very stark acoustic guitar to something much richer. The Shepherd's Dog is Iron & Wine's best album to date, with a much richer sound coming from a bigger background support. Where his earlier works were essentially solo guitar songs, the works here carry a much larger range of sound, from electric organs and pianos to complex drumwork, not to mention his guitar style. The lead single off of this album is Boy With A Coin, which has a very relaxed and effortless rythmn to it, as well as some fantastic lyrics to go along with everything. Other songs on this album are just as good, however, such as Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car and Lovesong of the Buzzard, all of which display the same, rich, fantastic sound. This is a fantastic album to check out, whether you're an Iron & Wine fan, or if you just want something really good to listen to.

This winter, Iron & Wine is on tour to support the new album, visiting the following locations:

September 23, 2007
Chicago, IL Metro
September 24, 2007
Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
September 25, 2007
Toronto, Ontario Danforth Music Hall
September 26, 2007
Montreal, Canada Metropolis
September 27, 2007
Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
September 28, 2007
Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
September 29, 2007
Washington, DC 9:30 Club
September 30, 2007
New York City, NY Town Hall Theatre
October 23, 2007
Leeds, UK City Varieties Music Hall
October 24, 2007
Gateshead, UK Sage Gateshead
October 25, 2007
Manchester, UK Academy 2
October 26, 2007
Belfast, Ireland Belfast Festival at Queens (Spiegel Tent)
October 27, 2007
Dublin, Ireland Ambassador Theatre
October 28, 2007
Bristol, UK St. George's
October 29, 2007
Edinburgh, Scotland Queen's Hall
October 31, 2007
London, UK Shepherd's Bush Empire
November 1, 2007
Cardiff, UK The Point
November 2, 2007
Brighton, UK St. George's Church
November 3, 2007
Nottingham, UK Rescue Rooms
November 4, 2007
Reading, UK Reading Concert Hall

Boy With A Coin - Iron & Wine
Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine

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