Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog (2007)

I highly recommend this album to anyone who appreciates music that is uplifting and sublime, even if you are not a fan of indie folk/indie rock in general. I heard a couple songs from this album on Pandora and purchased it hoping I would find more songs as good as the ones I had heard, and the album did not disappoint in this regard. Though I have not heard all of Sam's previous albums, I have heard several songs from them and I would have to say from that limited exposure this is by far his most accessible album, so if you are new to Iron and Wine, I recommend starting here. The emotional content is different on this album in that his laconic, breathy singing style has a more energetic undertone throughout. The overall delivery is laid back and mellow as usual but with an urgency that makes this music really grip your imagination.

For the first few weeks after receiving this album, I had several episodes where one of the songs would enter my head, or I would wake up with one of the songs in my head, and I had to satisfy my craving by listening to the track I was thinking of a couple times. It's ike that occasional craving I get for Thai cuisine...