Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
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Free Music Notes for Our Endless Numbered Days
Free Music Review: Intensely affecting
Hit: 5 Stars
I was in my basement playing this album while I worked. My mother came down to see what was going on, heard the music, and instantly teared up. That's how powerful Iron and Wine's "Our Endless Numbered Days" is.
Sam Beam's vocals have more quiet intensity than anyone else I've ever heard. Accompanied by only the most basic and lo-fi of instrumentals, they produce the most creepily, tragically romantic music you can imagine. Like many of my generation, it took IaW's brilliant cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" to make me discover the music, but Our Endless Numbered Days cemented Iron and Wine as some of my favorite music of all time.
On first listen, I thought this CD would be perfect to fall asleep to. That night, I put it on and promptly sobbed myself to sleep.
It takes a certain kind of person to love Iron and Wine, but anyone who hears the quiet, understated power in the music will never be sorry of this purchase.
Free Music Review: Approximates Nick Drake musically..Lindsay Buckingham vocally
Hit: 4 Stars
Sam Beam is the singer/songwriter behind Iron and Wine. Musically, you'll definitely be reminded of the spare acoustic folk sounds of Nick Drake, though Beam is apt to dust them with country influences quite often in the form of banjos and slide guitar. Vocally, he reminds me of a more hushed Lindsay Buckingham, especially when he utilizes layers of his vocals. ("Radio War" in particular made me think of a RUMOURS outtake..) Tempos and moods here vary between slow and melancholy to mid-tempo and subdued.
HIGHLIGHTS:
"On Your Wings" sinks it with its refrain "God, give us love in the time that we have" as it basks in mortality ("All these men that You've made/How we wither in the shade.."). "Each Coming Night" is another rumination about life's fragility. ("Will you say when I'm gone away/'I loved your son for his sturdy arms'...") "Free Until they Cut me Down" strides close musically to Johnny Cash's take on Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (at least during the intro section) but nicely diverges later into one of the more musically interesting bits. It's also one of the more cynical tunes here, seemingly placing Beam in the shoes of a rapist ("Papa, don't tell me what I could've done/She's the one who begged me/'Take me home'...") "Fever Dreams" has probably the most poetic take on love here ("I want your flowers/like babies want God's love/Or maybe sure as tomorrow will come") Don't ask me what "Teeth in the Grass" is about...don't ask me to stop hearing it in my head either. It just sticks there...
LOWS:
No particular tunes stick out as bad but there is a sameness of sound throughout the disc. Whether that strikes you as "boring" or "cohesive" is probably in the ear of the beholder. It's also a bit short on runtime (less than 45 minutes) if such things matter to you.
If you like clear-cut images in your lyrics, this ain't the CD for you. I suspect that in some cases Beam just thought the words "sounded good" and they don't have any meaning at all.
BOTTOM LINE:
The cheerleaders for this album are candycoating quite a bit. I don't hear any "new Dylan" here. However, I do find myself liking it after repeated listenings and see it as a nice piece of art. Nick Drake fans are advised to check it out, as are fans of folky pop in general.
3 1/2 stars
Free Music Review: Touches the soul
Hit: 5 Stars
Close your eyes, hear "Our Endless Numbered Days" and the energy around you suddenly becomes tangible. The beautifully somber melodies seem to flow though your body and mind like an avalanche. This work, created by Iron and Wine singer/song writer Sam Beam personifies non-violence and unity. The Earth would quite literally be a better place if every one shared the morals and ideals behind these wonderful songs.Free Music Review: Are you kidding me?
Hit: 1 Stars
Time must be passing me by and music evolving beyond my ability to appreciate, because I cannot fathom how anyone could like this "music". Someone told me that this disk had a fuller sound than the other Iron & Wine CD's. If that's a full sound then I'm 10 feet tall. I couldn't get past song three before I took the CD out of the player. This CD is lifeless. This one's going back.Free Music Review: Amazingly beautiful!
Hit: 5 Stars
Compared to Iron And Wine's "The Creek Drank The Cradle," this one sounds more melancholy.
Melancholy in a romantic way, not in a depressing way.
This album also sounds subtly happy, compared to "Woman King" which is a tad bit angry.
The acoustic guitar that can be heard throughout the whole album is charming!
I also love Sameul Beam's hushed soft voice (you wouldn't expect someone who has this soft voice to sport such a beard haha!).
His story-telling songs are ones that you'll never get bored of.
I've been listening to this album countless times; consider it a classic.
I can't say any of the tracks are bad, because they're all brilliant.
I thought #5 "Teeth in the Grass" has this repetitive guitar tune.
#7 "Radio War" is a short, redundant song.
Other than that, the rest of the album is great.
All the songs are worth listening to!