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Sam Beam has a big beard and his new and third long player is entitled ‘The Shepherd’s Dog. It features songs titled, ‘Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car’, ‘Resurrection Fern’ and ‘Innocent Bones’. Despite all indicators to the contrary, ‘The Shepherd’s Dog’ is not an all out folk album only to be enjoyed by middle-aged Uncut readers. Beam’s new tracks are multi-layered junkyard percussion-led songs which push forward with abandon, his vocal rhythm leading and driving the song forward, each line becoming the next becoming the next, and his breathy whispering style gives the impression of muddy knee’s running through fields and woods.
While there is certainly an edge towards the pastoral obsessions of mainstream folk, these are undercut by Beam’s lyrical artistry, and nothing is ever straightforward or free of uncomfortable undertones, for example when he states, matter of fact-ly, "A wife with a finger that never wanted a ring". There are also a number lyrics hinting at a certain despondency about religion and politics. From California, Beam has stated that the album was affected by George W. Bush’s re-election and lyrics such as "Have I found you, Flightless Bird, grounded, bleeding, Or lost you, Big bill, American mouth" compound that fact.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, the music retains the delicate and intimate folk tones of earlier releases adding a good dose of blues, as well as adding playful influences like the salsas rhythms heard on ‘Innocent Bones’ which sounds like something Stuart Murdoch and co. at Belle and Sebastian might have thought up during the recording of ‘Cassaco Marron’. There are also numerous guitar rhythms which remind of Paul Simon’s 1986 ‘Graceland’ album recorded in South Africa and heavily influenced by South African Musicians and artists in particular on ‘House By The Sea’ while this might make the Uncut reader’s wet with excitement but which should also make the youngsters sit up and take notice especially after The Holloway’s ‘Generator’ became such a huge hit.
It’s an amazing and expansive album which gives more at every listen, not just for old folkies with bushy beards.
