Iron & Wine :: Kiss Each Other Clean

Iron & Wine

Kiss Each Other Clean

As journalists, we tend to research our subject, whether we are doing a simple excerpt on a subject, an album review, or a full-length biography. Upon first seeing a picture of Iron & Wine I thought Zach Galifianakis had put out an album, or perhaps I had put out one without my own knowledge; but to my surprise, we have a triplet in our bearded look-alike club, Samuel Beam. Samuel Beam is of course the main ingredient of Iron & Wine itself, an act from the south described as folk, but in Kiss Each Other Clean they are so much more.

Kiss Each Other Clean is a folk-rock album with highlights of funk and soul, and despite the major label debut for Iron & Wine, it still keeps its indie flair. This album has plenty of 70’s pop influences. Half Moon reminds me of a great Fleetwood Mac song, one of the ones where they aren’t annoying (sorry Fleetwood Mac fans) and have beautiful harmonies. Godless Brother in Love is a slower ballad that may have borrowed the Beach Boys for background singers. Big Burned Hand is some straight up George Clinton era funkiness that can’t help but get a few head bobs/terrible dancing, if you are me. Your Fake Name is Good Enough could have easily been mistaken for a song on a YES record. The fact that it reminds me of something my parents would listen to while I was growing up adds comfort to this record that is very appealing.

I’ll admit, when I first looked at the album, I thought, “Ok, what kind of piece of crap did this bearded freak put together?” What he put together was something amazing, unique and fun to listen to. The variety of music he puts together is something to behold, its like a great nine-layer dip that someone brought to your party; its all put together as one, but you can certainly taste all the layers and they were all made perfect.

Matt’s Score: A

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