Sam Beam’s beard is every bit as full-bodied as you remember but elsewhere things have changed dramatically in Iron And Wine’s universe. Starting out as purveyor of sub-Bonnie Prince Billy backwoods folk, the South Carolina native has lately undergone an unexpected and delightful transmutation into a sort of one-man Elton John/Hall & Oates revival. This might have been a career-damning misstep a few years ago, but with bands as diverse as Midlake and MGMT re-embracing the ‘70s, Beam’s channelling of the era’s glossy drive-time pop has acquired a zeitgeisty sheen.
Certainly the shifting of gears evidenced by Iron And Wine’s recent fourth album Kiss Each Other Clean seems to have gone down well with his public. A top five hit in the US, the record’s sunny vibrations have drawn a capacity crowd to the Olympia and people are clearly in a mood to sup from Beam’s well of good humour.
Flanked by a seven-piece ensemble, he arrives with the air of a guy who has just thrown the curtains back and realised it’s Saturday morning. “I’ve had a cold and I’ve been singing like a frog,” he says. “But today I’m feelin’ good. We’re gonna have a great time.”
Beam is true to his word. Cosseted by this band’s generous, warm-hearted ministrations he opens with ‘Rabbit Will Run’, a lulling alt. country lullaby from the new record that asks you to imagine Johnny Cash fronting Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac. Admittedly, the new Iron And Wine will not be to everyone’s tastes – a distinct whiff of prog is manifest in the swirl of saxophone and flutes accompanying ‘House By The Sea’ and ‘Cinder And Smoke’.
But the sunshine glimmers through all the same. A nihilist observational bathed in cheery folksiness, ‘Walking Far From Home’ showcases Beam’s strengths as a writer of melodies; ‘Me And Lazarus’ fuses biblical portent and chillin’ on the porch breeziness; ‘Tree By The River’ is the sound of Nick Cave OD-ing on Sunny Delight and ice-cream. Only the omission of the r’n’b tinged ‘Monkeys All Around’ – the best song on the new album – disappoints. Otherwise, this is one evening that sends you home with an enormous silly grin pasted on your face. Beam certainly wore one as he waved his farewells and slouched into the night.