Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004) Audio CD | Indie Folk Album | Perfect for Relaxation & Road Trips

This is a vastly different Iron and Wine than the one we heard on their first two releases. With their new release, "Our Endless Numbered Days," Iron and Wine bring back their brand of edgy folk music. This time around things are a bit different.Gone is the haunting home production. Gone are the low-fi noises of an open microphone catching the movements of an open window, or a stalking cat. Fortunately, the delicate melodies that give Iron and Wine their signature sound is still there. In addition there are more sounds to fill up all the new noiseless space. It sounds strange that anyone would ever complain about increased production quality, but I am sure there are going to be more than a few fans who will long for the scaled back home recordings.I couldn't believe when I heard the scratch of auxiliary percussion on the opening track "On Your Wings." Then the drums actually kicked in. Don't worry though. The drums weren't a major force, and did nothing but help fill out the track. There are also additional vocals provided by Sam Beam's sister Sarah, who did a beautiful job on the harmonies when Iron and Wine toured most recently.As for the songs this time around, they will have a tough time living up to the expectations after a debut like "The Creek Drank the Cradle" and its follow-up EP "The Sea and the Rhythm," but they are certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. "Cinders and Smoke" is the second track and ends with an almost Native American chant. "Sunset Soon Forgotten," "Love and Some Verses," and "Each Coming Night," are all a return to the finger plucking style that was so prevalent on the "Creek Drank the Cradle."The real highlights in my opinion are songs like "Radio War," which is almost an a cappella two-part harmony. The album closer, "Passing Afternoon" is a nice little groove that rises continually until the end where the harmonies kick up a notch and a piano serenades us out of the album. They didn't save the best for last in my opinion.The real album highlight is track 10, "Fever Dream." From a structure standpoint this song is nearly a carbon copy of "The Sea and the Rhythm" from the EP of the same name. Verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus. This is by far the most beautiful song on the album. The chorus is a harmony of, "I want your flowers like babies want God's love, or maybe as sure as tomorrow will come."There aren't too many people out there writing lyrics with this much beauty any more. I think it makes music like Iron and Wine that much more special. "Our Endless Numbered Days" will be released on Sub Pop sometime in March, and don't miss an opportunity to see them live.RockDummy.com