Iron and Wine - Woman King EP

yaledailynews.com - The return of the neo-folk king:

"Sam Beam is a careful man. Long before he had a backing band to speak of, he hid behind the pseudonym Iron & Wine, carefully layering ghostly vocal tracks over carefully picked guitar melodies on a four-track recorder. His second full-length album, 'Our Endless Numbered Days,' used richer production without abandoning stark simplicity: The result was a new, crisper sound, coming from the same ghosts, the same guitars.

Now, with the release of the six-song EP 'Woman King,' Beam carefully lets us know that his music has a trajectory -- and what a lovely trajectory it is. A quiet man's electric album, it is still very much acoustic; and for an album namely about women, it occasionally verges on bellicose."

The East Carolinian - Iron & Wine: the man, the music, the mystery revealed

So you like Jack Johnson, Howie Day, Ryan Adams, Nick Drake, Damien Rice and all of the other acoustic crooners' right? Then you will love Iron & Wine. Sam Beam is the founder of the group, lead singer and writes all of the music. Simply put, he is a genius. Beam has created a smooth acoustic feel, with light percussion in his band, Iron & Wine.

Beam, currently residing in Florida as a teacher, has brought a lot of new tactics to the acoustic genre. His southern upbringing has influenced a lot of his music into a James Taylor-esque feel. In his new CD, Woman King, an accoutrement of instruments is incorporated to the EP. When blended together as Beam does, it brings forth a beautiful harmony, almost like an earthy sound.