Iron and Wine

Sam Beam's serene slide guitar and acoustic picking is unmistakable, and though this compilation mixes unembellished home recordings with studio-polished, previously unreleased tracks, it's hard to differentiate the two -- at least from a poignancy perspective. The first half of Around the Well is the raw batch, with originals plus covers of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" and the Flaming Lips' "Waitin' for a Superman"; the second half ups the ambiance with (generally) more fleshed-out tracks in the vein of previous release The Shepherd's Dog.

"Setting sun framed in the doorway right behind you," whispers ex-film professor Sam Beam
in one of many cinematic images on this two-disc rarities compilation. Unspooling his
haunting originals, plus choice covers (including the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights"
and New Order's "Love Vigilantes"), Beam frames his warm vocals mainly with banjo lines
and spare acoustic-guitar strumming. His group's folk-rocking 2007 set, The Shep... More >