The poetry of Sam Beam, otherwise known as Iron & Wine, can sometimes be lost behind the powerful folky melodies that take the forefront of his music. Iron & Wine has come a long way since its first labor of love, the low-fi album Beam recorded in his home studio in 2002, titled The Creek Drank the Cradle. On “Passing Afternoon,” the last track from his second record, he sings: “There are times that walk from you / like some passing afternoon / There are things we can’t recall / blind as night that finds us all.” The fatalistic lyrics receive a nice boost from the ebb and flow of the beautiful guitar accompaniment.
