Album Review: Iron & Wine, Hen’s Teeth

Much of Hen’s Teeth comes out of the same studio sessions that gave rise to Iron & Wine’s 2024 LP, the Grammy-nominated Light Verse. These 10 tracks don’t deviate hugely from the blueprint that has served 51-year-old Sam Beam well since 2002, as he offers up more acoustic ruminations on life, love and longing.

The gorgeous ‘Paper And Stone’ is Beam at his best, all fingerpicked acoustic guitar, swirling violin and lived-in vocals. It’s a real highlight, alongside ‘In Your Ocean’, which owes a debt to the classic crooners of the ‘60s and ‘70s, with snatches of James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Paul Simon.

Beam’s daughter, Arden, contributes backing vocals to four songs, including the beautiful, lilting ‘Grace Notes’; the stop-start ‘Singing Saw’; the gentle folk fugue of ‘Defiance, Ohio’; and the stunning ‘Roses’, where a magnificent string section lifts the song into the stratosphere.

Elsewhere, the catchy, ‘60s-ish acoustic pop of ‘Robin’s Egg’ tips its hat to Simon & Garfunkel, with Beam joined on vocals by Grammy-winning Americana trio I’m With Her.

It may be a little saccharine at times, but it all makes for a pleasing listen.

7.5/10