North Carolina troubadour Sam Beam’s sixth studio album is unlikely to win his immaculate spin on folk rock new followers, representing the first retrogressive step in his 15-year career in music. The likes of Song in Stone and About a Bruise shy away from the vigorous soul and jazz flavours of their parent album’s immediate predecessors Ghost on Ghost and Kiss Each Other Clean. Instead they cleave to the less embellished palette of Iron & Wine’s debut The Creek Drank the Cradle and follow-up Our Endless Numbered Days.
That said, with Beast Epic Beam has delivered a suite of songs that is equal to anything he’s done before. There’s a consistency that won’t surprise long-term fans, though they might be disappointed by the lack of a standout song to rival Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me (from Kiss Each Other Clean) or the Woman King EP’s Evening on the Ground (Lilith’s Song).
This record is snug, unthreatening and comforting, which means anyone looking for catharsis ought to give it a wide berth. But for those preoccupied by the kind of concerns that trouble Sam Beam – chiefly thoughts of mortality and fallibility – Beast Epic will be a long, warm, healing embrace.
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