BLOWIN' INDIE WIND

Author: Richard Lawless

There comes a time in every lo-fi indie rocker's career when they decide it's time to get rid of the tape hiss and actually record an album with normal production standards. Lo-fi originators Pavement gradually cleaned up their sound over the course of their career, eventually recording their swan song with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. The result was something much different from - and not nearly as charming as - the endearing fuzz of their masterful debut "Slanted & Enchanted." Guided By Voices, once the epitome of poorly recorded pop gems, cleaned up their sound considerably by the time of their own swan song, last year's anticlimactic "Half Smiles of the Decomposed." And it's merely a matter of time before Microphones maven Phil Elvrum/Elvrim (he changes the spelling of his name on a whim) collaborates with the Neptunes or Kanye West for some music that's glossier than the hood of your Camaro the time you actually took it to Maaco. Well, at least I did.

Enter Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine, who has done exactly what I described above (not the Maaco thing). From his 2002 debut "The Creek Drank the Cradle" to his recently-released "Woman King" EP, Beam has quickly moved towards a much richer, crisper sound with the aid of more cash and hence studio equipment. But unlike his lo-fi forefathers, Beam's sound only benefits from his improved production. While Pavement and Guided By Voices lost a significant amount of their charm and appeal by trading in their four tracks for 24-track (or more) studios, Beam's music begs to be sharpened and glossed, because it's much more delicate than other lo-fi artists' music. In fact, the only thing Iron & Wine had in common with lo-fi peers was the poor production. Sam Beam doesn't play abrasive, whimsical, pop music, as most lo-fi artists do. He plays hushed, pastoral folk, and the improved production on his 2004 album "Our Endless Numbered Days" and also on "Woman King" have allowed his music to shine. No longer can we classify Iron & Wine as lo-fi music.

You probably first heard Iron & Wine covering the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" on the "Garden State" soundtrack, because every college student now owns that, as well as that annoying poster of affable young actor/director Zach Braff on a motorcycle with Natalie Portman in the sidecar. Beam's cover is good, but his own music is better. "Woman King" opens with an engaging clapping of drum sticks and muted acoustic guitars beckoning listeners into Beam's little world. A slide guitar begins playing the song's captivating melody, with Beam's gorgeous voice coming in seconds later, offering his usual woodsy musings: "Blackbird claw, raven wing / Under the red sun, hide / Long clothesline, two shirtsleeves / Waving as we go by." Beam's lyrics are usually vague and cryptic, but they fit both his enigmatic persona and the hazy, smoky feels of his music perfectly. Beam's world seems firmly planted in the lazy summer heat of the South, and he certainly looks the part of a mysterious folksman, taking a page from the Will Oldham school of having a really giant beard. He began his career releasing tapes from his Miami home while teaching cinematography at a local college, maintaining a mysterious distance from record labels in his correspondences.

There's a definite old-timey folk influence in Beam's music on "Woman King." Bygone blue-collar folk singers like Dock Boggs come to mind when one listens to the beguiling rhythms and banjos on "Freedom Hangs Like Heaven." The more detailed, crisper production allows Beam to add more instruments to the mix this time around. Percussion is used much more frequently here, though it usually takes the form of chimes, sticks and the occasional tom drum, all of which further enhances my image of Beam having a jamboree with little woodland creatures somewhere in rural Georgia.

Usually I condemn the purchasing of EPs, because they're so short yet still expensive, but hey, this is just a few minutes shy of a Weezer album, and the music is excellent, so I'm stamping my seal of approval on "Woman King."