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Ghost on Ghost

Iron & Wine

Ghost on Ghost

Fifth studio album from folk rock singer-songwriter Sam Beam

ADM rating[?]

7.5

Label
Nonesuch
UK Release date
16/04/2013
US Release date
16/04/2013
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  1. 10.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    As dense stylistically as it is lyrically
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  2. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    That the new stuff doesn’t make you pine for the comforting certainties of early solo classics à la ‘Naked as We Came’ at all is a sign of just what a successful evolution Ghost on Ghost is
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  3. 9.0 |   The Digital Fix

    You’ll be hard pushed for find another collection of songs as musically diverse as this
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  4. 9.0 |   Uncut

    A work of immense beauty and scale
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  5. 8.5 |   Paste Magazine

    With 12 great new songs, each with its own spirit, style and direction, Ghost On Ghost is the best album in Iron & Wine’s already impressive discography
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  6. 8.5 |   The Quietus

    Ghost On Ghost might not be definitive - Beam gives off the impression that a genuine modern classic is not yet beyond him, something a tightening of focus might help him achieve - but this is big, beautiful music all the same
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  7. 8.3 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    It’s easy for casual listeners to place Iron and Wine in the finely crafted box of Folk-inspired, Indie-rock. However, those listeners would be mostly wrong
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  8. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    While a Beam-in-his-bedroom album would probably receive a rapturous welcome it’d be silly to sit and wait for that when there’s so much colorful, layered beauty to unpack right here
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  9. 8.0 |   Blurt

    Some of the strongest folk/pop melodies he’s yet composed
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  10. 8.0 |   The 405

    The sound of a man who's settled, but not complacent
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  11. 8.0 |   Q

    The odd minor chord lingers but Californian sun wins out in the end. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    There’s a jazzy, improvised feel to much of the music that may surprise fans of his folk work. But it works. Iron & Wine gets better with age
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  13. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Long-time fans may miss the old eerie melancholia, but it's hard to quibble with Beam's most assured set of tunes to date
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  14. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Teems with ideas and smuggles in lyrical barbs among the sumptuous melodies
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  15. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Sam Beam has a made a commercial record by the simple expedient of making a beautiful one. Print edition only

  16. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A more obviously welcoming album than its recent predecessors
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  17. 8.0 |   All Music

    One of the most satisfying albums the group has done to date
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  18. 7.9 |   The AU Review

    An interesting and complex album, with some genuinely exquisite moment
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  19. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Given how routine and mechanical this genre has become the past few years, it's remarkable to hear Beam, a songwriter of more rustic, folksy origins, make it wholly his own
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  20. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The overall effect can still be a little drowsy, but the best tunes here are the kind of dreams that will stay on your mind long after waking
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  21. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Whilst arguably Beam's most consistent album for some years, there are fewer moments of raw beauty here than on past excursions
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  22. 7.0 |   DIY

    Uncomplicated, joyful stuff
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  23. 7.0 |   NME

    Sweeping harmonies, plush instrumentation and a knowing take on the grandiose
    Read Review

  24. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    A relaxed, unburdened work that should please most fans and generally be viewed positively elsewhere
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  25. 6.1 |   Pitchfork

    Ghost on Ghost is best when it’s most straightforward and worst when the experimentalism becomes desperate rather than bold
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  26. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    While Ghost on Ghost is hardly a great leap forward sonically for Beam, it’s a breezy and nonchalant record that might be more transitional in nature
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  27. 6.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    As puzzle pieces to a full-length album, at least a third of these songs come off as superfluous and unnecessary
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  28. 6.0 |   Clash

    Comforting, like a slab of rich chocolate cake, but with a similar sense of bloating
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  29. 6.0 |   The Scotsman

    Beam’s evocatively drawn lyrics and clear emotional focus pull this fine record together
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  30. 5.8 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    It may be palatable and generally inoffensive on a whole, but Ghost on Ghost really goes down best when viewed as a supplement to other better, more transcendent material already out there
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  31. 5.0 |   Under The Radar

    From a simple accessibility standpoint, the songs on Ghost on Ghost are not as strong as those from his past
    Read Review

  32. Back to main chart

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Iron & Wine: Ghost on Ghost

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Caught In The Briars £0.89
  • 2. The Desert Babbler £0.89
  • 3. Joy £0.89
  • 4. Low Light Buddy Of Mine £0.89
  • 5. Grace For Saints And Ramblers £0.89
  • 6. Grass Widows £0.89
  • 7. Singers And The Endless Song £0.89
  • 8. Sundown (Back In The Briars) £0.89
  • 9. Winter Prayers £0.89
  • 10. New Mexico's No Breeze £0.89
  • 11. Lovers' Revolution £0.89
  • 12. Baby Center Stage £0.89
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