PT Bruiser

9. Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine

I saw Iron & Wine on the tour for Kiss Each Other Clean—not when they came to the University of Central Arkansas (though I heard it was a great show), but when they passed through Edinburgh back in March. Typically, seeing a band’s live show usually gives them a “bump” in my year-end rankings: I saw concerts for The Age of Adz and The Hazards of Love, my number one albums of 2010 and 2009. So it’s a bit surprising that Iron & Wine—one of my favorite bands since Katie gave me Our Endless Numbered Days for Christmas in 2004—didn’t manage to climb past spot #9 given how much I enjoyed their show.

Here’s the problem: I love the hot jazzy turn that Sam Beam has taken with this new album, but hearing him play his old songs in the new style made me appreciate how much I love The Shepherd’s Dog (2007) even more than it made me appreciate how fresh the new Iron & Wine sound is. Kiss Each Other Clean is not a step back, but I think it’s much stronger musically than it is lyrically, and I fell in love with Sam Beam the lyricist first and foremost.

That said, this is a strong album. It has a much fuller sound than The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002), Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), and Around the Well (2009). The stories are still compelling—see “Tree by the River” and “Me and Lazarus.” I’m especially a sucker for the expansive closing track, “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me.” Don’t let the low ranking fool you: much like The King Is Dead, this album may have been a mild disappointment, but that in no way means that it is not a great album.