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| Popmatters |
 Morning Becomes Electric is a radio program based out of KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., which features in-studio performances by well-regarded acts. Sam Beam’s Iron and Wine paid a visit to the show in January 2011, playing a handful of songs and engaging in a bit of on-air interview time with host Jason Bentley. For I&W completists, this is an engaging enough set, featuring three songs from the then-new Kiss Each Other Clean album as well as a few older favorites and rarities. Compared with the band’s inventive live shows from 2011, though (I caught them in Portland in May), this set is disappointingly tame.It’s also a radio broadcast, which means some of the already-brief running time is given over to chitchat. Cut away the three conversation tracks, and you’re left with just eight songs, only one of which stretches close to five minutes; several are disappointingly slight. “Boy With a Coin” clocks in at 3:30, considerably shorter than the album length, and feels stifled. That said, the performances are all well played. Beam brings the full complement of musicians into the studio with him—eleven in all—and it’s clear that these professionals know what is expected of them. For all the layers of brass, keyboards, guitars and percussion, the songs never feel overwrought or busy; the band has always relied on precision and understatement, and that’s true here. Set opener “Tree by the River” floats along on waves of strummed acoustic guitar and contains a breeziness absent from the more-layered (and longer) LP version. The standout cuts here are probably “Summer in Savannah” and “My Lady’s House”, which are both, coincidentally or not, longer tunes that allow for this roomful of musicians to show off their chops a little. “Summer in Savannah”, released as a bonus track on the single for “Walking Far From Home”, bounces with a funky groove quite unexpected from this outfit. “My Lady’s House” from 2005’s Woman King EP, is classic Iron & Wine, a soft, down-tempo number that puts Beam’s wistful vocals front and center. This version adds a bit to the sonic stew and stretches out the tune. Meanwhile “Me and Lazarus”, another track from Kiss Each Other Clean, ramps up the fuzzy wah-wah guitar, to good effect....full text |
| Exclaim |
| Iron & Wine main man Sam Beam has a lot of love for radio stations, it seems. Earlier this year, the singer-songwriter performed his latest album, Kiss Each Other Clean, in full on a NYC radio station and released a split LP with the Low Anthem culled from some Daytrotter sessions. Now he's announced another on-air affair capturing a 2011 appearance on Morning Becomes Eclectic. The limited-edition LP was recorded at the Village Recording Studio in Los Angeles with Beam and his ten-piece band, and was originally broadcast live on KCRW. The collection features songs from Kiss Each Other Clean, as well as some from the folksy act's back catalogue, and includes a mid-set interview. You can check out the tracklist below. The release comes as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday (November 25) in the U.S. via Warner, and will also be issued on December 5 in the UK by 4AD....full text |
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