Sam Beam's Iron & Wine Offered New VIsions of Older Tunes

In the six years since Iron & Wine's lo-fi debut album The Creek Drank the Cradle, things have changed. Listeners have witnessed Iron & Wine transform from the recording name of songwriter Samuel Beam into a multi-piece rock band with electric guitar, xylophones, world percussion and violin accompaniment.

On the Dell Stage Saturday night, Iron & Wine made its second appearance at ACL and offered a slow-burning set of songs packed with extended instrumental outros and jam-band breakdowns. And while the shiny, three-dimensional takes offered a new listening experience, it all felt like a coat of polish unnecessary for songs that really only require Beam and his guitar.

The band played several tracks from 2007's "The Shepherd's Dog." Tunes like "House by the Sea" and "White Tooth Man" were only slightly altered from their compact disc counterparts, but older songs like "Cinder and Smoke" were completely re-imagined with full-band arrangements fleshing out Beam's muted originals. - Eric Pulsifer