Maybe I'm too easy to please, but I've never disliked any of Iron and Wine's albums. They all sound different and each one focuses on strong lyricism and Beam's fantastic voice. I agree with you about the live music aspect of it, hearing the songs from KEOC next to classic Iron and Wine songs really made me appreciate just how good they really were. I disagree with you on not liking the closing song from Ghost on Ghost, though. "Baby Center Stage" is the best song on the album and holds up the the last is best trend that you picked up on.
This album would be so out of place released in the summer. It covers mental illness and stigma with such bleakness. Yet, the turn of phrases and that thick Scottish accent are so sexy, it's hard to deny.
I'd love to rag on the top spot this week, but admittedly that video/song was a lot of fun if not cheesy. You can have your T-Swifties this week, Stereogum.
"Fuckin' Problems" may not be the most academic song ever, but it does what a first single is supposed to do. It has a big beat and it's catchy. To overgeneralize the entire album based off of two lines (along with 90% of hip hop) is unfair. You said yourself that you don't like hip hop, so your bias is apparent. Why don't you leave pretentious, snarky comments to yourself so the rest of us can have an open discussion.
No reveal of personality? What about on "Phoenix" where he compares himself to Kurt Cobain and talks about suicide? That seems pretty personal to me. It's not the only time on the album where he hints at depression coming out of the sudden fame, either. Maybe these notions get buried in the production and wonderful guest acts, but they're definitely a part of the entire picture.
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