Given and Taken in Ink

Iron & Wine, Walking Far From Home [single]

Posted by Greg , Friday, November 26, 2010 5:26 PM

As part of Record Store Day's Back to Black Friday event, Iron & Wine have released "Walking Far From Home," the leadoff single from the band's new album Kiss Each Other Clean (due on January 25, 2011).  Vinyl and CD versions are available exclusively at independent record stores starting today.  Digital downloads will be available on November 30, 2010.  My wife and I rushed off to a record store almost 20 miles away to luckily snatch up the last vinyl copy in stock.

"Walking Far From Home" track list:
1. Walking Far From Home
2. Summer in Savannah
3. Biting Your Tail

A quick look at the song titles for Kiss Each Other Clean reveals that Sam Beam is still preoccupied with religious metaphors, animals,and rivers.  However, if the new single is any indication of the upcoming album's sound, Kiss Each Other Clean is going to be an even bigger departure than The Shepherd's Dog was.  Structured a bit like "The Trapeze Swinger" (only in that neither song has a true chorus), the title track leads off with distorted vocals and guitars before breaking into gospel-tinged backing ooh-ooh-ahh's.  The single's b-sides veer into R&B territory, and Beam actually lets his voice elevate beyond a whisper.  "Summer in Savannah" employs saxophone and synths, while "Biting Your Tail" dabbles with electronica.  It's astonishing (my wife accidentally put side B on first, and our necks snapped in each other's direction as "Summer in Savannah" began), but somehow it all works.

Kiss Each Other Clean track list:
1. Walking Far From Home
2. Me And Lazarus
3. Tree By The River
4. Monkeys Uptown
5. Half Moon
6. Rabbit Will Run
7. Godless Brother In Love
8. Big Burned Hand
9. Glad Man Singing
10. Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me