IRON & WINE

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Iron & Wine, the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam Beam, release​d their eighth full-length album and sixth for Sub Pop, entitled Hen’s Teeth, worldwide on February 27th.

Hen’s Teeth arrives fully formed but sits as a sibling record, ofsorts, to 2024’s acclaimed and Grammy-nominated Light Verse.Its seeds were sewn during the multiple sessions done over thelast few years in the foothills of Los Angeles with studioowner/engineer Dave Way (Fiona Apple, Jakob Dylan, SherylCrow) at the helm. The record features many familiar names fromthe Iron & Wine universe - David Garza, Sebastian Steinberg,Tyler Chester, Griffin Goldsmith, Beth Goodfellow, Kyle Crane andPaul Cartwright – lending their talents to a collection of songs thatwhile complimentary in nature had their own distinct feel.

Hen’s Teeth includes a few new fresh voices, theGrammy-winning Americana trio I’m With Her - Sarah Jarosz,Aiofe O’Donovan and Sara Watkins - are featured on two tracks.The trio bring their harmonizing prowess to the ebullient track,“Robin’s Egg,” and in the tender, mournful “Wait Up” they makemore with less on a song that is sure to become a fan favorite.The record also marks the recording debut of Arden Beam. Arden(one of Beam’s daughters) contributes harmonies and backingvocals on “Roses,” “Singing Saw,” “Defiance, Ohio,” and “GraceNotes.” Her contributions lend a personal poignancy and awonderful sonic texture to Hen’s Teeth.

The title Hen’s Teeth, much like the birth of this record, takes itsinspiration as something that should not exist; a happy accidentthat fell out of enjoying the company of the aforementionedplayers in a setting that offered creativity and inspiration. AsBeam states : “To me it suggests the impossible. Hen’s teeth donot exist. And that’s what this record felt like: a gift that shouldn’tbe there but it is. An impossible thing but it’s real.”

Today, Iron & Wine has shared an official video for their sonically poignant track, “In Your Ocean.” It’s one of several songs on Hen’s Teeth in which lovers are depicted as so deeply entwined they physically merge. “Praying for dry ground / Though I onlywant to drown / When I find myself swimming in your ocean.” Youcan watch the new video, directed by Spencer Kelly, below.