When Sam Beam started his Iron & Wine project a quarter of a century ago, he was one of those American idiots who would rather do everything himself than have to talk to others about his feelings. Beam was in good company, Jason Molina, Bill Callahan and Will Oldham did the same.
Eight regular albums and many collaborations later, Iron & Wine has developed into a community project. For example, the three musicians from the bluegrass trio I’m With Her helped with the new recordings, and Beam’s daughter Arden takes on backing vocals on four songs. The ex Schrat has long been at the center of a community of friends and family. What would his stubborn ex-self have thought about this future prospect? Impossible, like a hen with teeth! And yet this album exists, which is why Sam Beam titled it HEN’S TEETH.
The songs tell multi-faceted stories about the physical and mental merging of people. Accordingly, the music sounds tender and opulent. In “Roses” a beautiful part with strings is followed by a thorny coda, in “Singing Saw” Beam briefly sounds like Prince, “Grace Notes” is reminiscent of the early phase of Iron & Wine, built close to the water. The highlight is “Dates And Dead People”, an eerily good song about the eternal cycle of life and love.
This review appears in Musikexpress 3/2026.
