[TYPOS ALL MINE]

from the new HARP Magazine (October/November 2003)
pp. 104-105

IRON & WINE
Iron & Wine EP
(Sub Pop)

"Seems like a long, long time since I've swung you to this borrowed
radio," Sam Beam sighs on this five-song EP. He's lying, of course.
The brainchild of Floridian film buff Beams, Iron & Wine's debut -- a
late-night folk collection called THE CREEK DRUNK THE CRADLE --
arrived just last year. To produce that disc, Sub Pop plucked the
ripest cherries from Beam's bushel basket; his demos numbered some 40
fully formed tunes, so no further recording was required. They've
drwan this side-dish from the same tapes, so not surprisingly, its
songs -- among them the wrenchingly intimate "The Sea and the
Rhythm," the live staple "Jesus the Mexican Boy" -- follow a familiar
formula: bleary whispers over Nick Drake fingerpicking, subtle
percussion and tipsy slide guitar. It's nothing unexpected, but a
worthy fix for Sam-starved softies.

ANDERS SMITH LINDALL