Ladling Iron & Wine

The Creek Drank the Cradle(Sub Pop, 2002)

The self-recorded debut of contemplative Southern gothic narratives rooted Beam's lo-fi aesthetic in the brooding Appalachian banjo of "The Rooster Moans" and worn redemption of "Southern Anthem," while the darkness and disillusion of songs like "Promising Light" and "Muddy Hymnal" are balanced with a hushed, Nick Drake ethereality lingering over acoustic and slide guitar.

The Sea & the Rhythm (Sub Pop, 2003)

Featuring songs held over from the debut, this five-song EP is even more stunning for its brevity. The title track and "Someday the Waves" are two of Beam's greatest achievements, both realizing his ability to draw abstract truths from intimate, concrete detail. "Jesus the Mexican Boy," meanwhile, is one of his most developed portraits.

Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop, 2004)

Though maintaining the personal pull of his debut, the sophomore LP is more polished and tightly layered, melding Beam's gentle vocals with his sister Sarah's harmonies. Quieter moments like "Love and Some Verses" and the exquisite "Passing Afternoon" benefit from richer production, while "Teeth in the Grass" and "Free Until They Cut Me Down" unearth bluesier roots.

Woman King (Sub Pop, 2005)

This six-song female-centric cycle marks Beam's first true effort to move beyond bedroom folk with more aggressive, full-band arrangements. The racing pulse of "Freedom Hangs Like Heaven" and "Evening on the Ground (Lilith's Song)" drives an urgency into the religious symbolism, adding piano and electric guitar to the sound, and the title track gallops behind prophetic, disjointed verses.

In the Reins (Overcoat, 2005)

The product of a long-planned collaboration between Iron & Wine and Calexico, the Arizonans dust Beam's ballads with Southwestern flavor. Swelling horns provide a pop backdrop to "History of Lovers" and the exceptional steel evokes an expansive air to the burnt nostalgia of "Sixteen, Maybe Less" and "Prison on Route 41." Salvador Duran's deep, operatic Latin verse on "He Lays in the Reins" brilliantly accents Beam's hushed trill.