Shepherd's Dog

Rolling Stone (p.77) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Beam finally brings the blood, instrumental colors and quirky but fluid arrangements that make explicit the worry and wounds running red in his Southern-gothic stories and dead-love letters." Spin (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] gorgeous melange of world percussions, electric strings, and airy harmonies that continues the expansion of his sound..." Entertainment Weekly (p.107) - "[I]t becomes clear that he's added dimension to his style without sacrificing its gorgeous tranquility." -- Grade: A- Q (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Like quicksand, it's subtle, surprising and utterly absorbing." Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e has recast his music, adding rhythms and a fullness of sound....It is, by any measure, a quiet revolution....In the midst of his despair, evidently Sam Beam found hope." Alternative Press (p.162) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "He's expanded his instrumental repertoire considerably, creating a study in measured quietude....Beam conjures yet another hypnotic dreamworld..." Magnet (p.98) - "By maintaining his intimacy while armed with a full palette of colors, Beam sets himself far apart from the rest of the hush-and-shush crowd." No Depression (p.95) - "In its mild, stubborn way, it's the fizziest record Beam has made yet....Beam can turn a phrase more deftly than almost any of his direct compatriots...."

キャレキシコとの来日ライヴでステキなステージを披露してくれたことも記憶に新しい、サム・ビームによるユニットの新作。一点の翳りもない柔らかな歌声と、実妹サラとの美しいコーラスに陶酔させられっぱなし。コンガなどを用いたお茶目な味付けが、バンジョーやアコギ、スライド・ギターが紡ぐ繊細で潤いに満ちたメロディーをグッと引き立てます。芳醇かつノスタルジックな印象を与えてくれる一枚。
bounce (C)竹内 幹代