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Apr 16, 2013For the most part, Ghost on Ghost is a good record that disappoints because we know its creator is capable of something more powerful.
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Apr 15, 2013Bringing the scale back down to something human while injecting some jazz and sunshine into the I&W sound proves to be a very good strategy for Beam, and it makes Ghost on Ghost one of the most satisfying albums the group has done to date.
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Alternative PressApr 1, 2013It's a solid album in an impressive and varied discography. [May 2013, p.90]
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Apr 1, 2013It has a silky-smooth sheen about it, but there’s an earthy, analog vibe that keeps its songs grounded, and more importantly, makes them sound absolutely sublime, no matter how ornate or ethereal.
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May 16, 2013His fifth LP ties it all together with ethereal jazz-soul in summer colors, bolstered by the nimble swing provided by members of Bob Dylan's band and New Orleans horns orchestrated again by Tin Hat Trio's Rob Burger.
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Apr 17, 2013Marrying Beam’s continued interest in keeping the beat moving with some of the strongest folk/pop melodies he’s yet composed, Ghost on Ghost evolves Iron & Wine music even further into the realm of the mystic.
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Apr 11, 2013A pleasant, occasionally saccharine listen.
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Apr 22, 2013After so much rapid reinvention, he’s found himself stalled in the middle of a transformation. In his constant quest to learn new tricks, he’s only ended up chasing his tail.
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Apr 17, 2013As puzzle pieces to a full-length album, at least a third of these songs come off as superfluous and unnecessary.
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Apr 15, 2013Uncomplicated, joyful stuff.
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Apr 12, 2013Whilst arguably Beam's most consistent album for some years, there are fewer moments of raw beauty here than on past excursions, resulting in a whole that is somehow less than its impressive component parts.
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Apr 16, 2013While Ghost on Ghost is outstanding in places, it's too uneven to hold up to Beam's best work.
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Apr 18, 2013Sam Beam’s wily flirtations with girl-group chants and country-politan pageantry entices in fits and starts. Unfortunately, Ghost on Ghost’s midsection suffers from some genre weariness and similitude.
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MojoApr 9, 2013Sam Beam has made a commercial record by the simple expedient of making a beautiful one. [May 2013, p.84]
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Apr 11, 2013Ghost On Ghost is a relaxed, unburdened work that should please most fans and generally be viewed positively elsewhere.
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Apr 15, 2013Sam Beam's fifth album sees him taking further, grander steps in the shiny loafers of a cheesy 1970s crooner with a fondness for symphonic folk and a soul groove.
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Apr 16, 2013With 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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Apr 19, 2013Too often it sounds as though Beam is less interested in defining a new sound and more concerned with distancing himself from an old one.
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Apr 24, 2013It’s the sound of an artist trying to go on the rebound. That he partially succeeds may be cause for a quiet, at the very least, celebration, just like the sound of the album itself.
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Apr 22, 2013Beam along with producer Brian Deck and a host of musicians including members from Dylan’s band, The Tin Hat Trio and Antony and Johnsons, Iron and Wine continues this evolution by crafting a lush album of AM radio pop—complete with funk and jazz grooves.
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Q MagazineApr 9, 2013Bolstered by members of Dylan's band, the songs are built on buoyant '60s pop and Beach Boys harmonies soar alongside lively brass. [May 2013, p.103]
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Jun 4, 2013Ghost On Ghost completes Iron & Wine’s transformation from simple soul-searching singer-songwriter into fully-fledged bandleader. Beam firmly remains a master at both.
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Apr 16, 2013The overall e ffect 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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Apr 18, 2013Given how routine and mechanical this genre [coffeehouse-style soft rock] 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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May 8, 2013It 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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Apr 16, 2013Most of Ghost On Ghost treads territory similar to Kiss Each Other Clean, just with a bit more loose-limbed joy replacing that album’s austere moments.
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Apr 11, 2013Long-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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Apr 12, 2013So long as you're not paying close attention, it's a beguiling enough experience.
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Apr 15, 2013Ghost on Ghost is as dense stylistically as it is lyrically.
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Apr 9, 2013That 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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Apr 29, 2013The arrangements are bold but often misplaced, cluttering and distracting from the songs instead of illuminating them; the characters get lost in their costumes.
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Apr 15, 2013Suave in its mastery of its chosen style, it still teems with ideas and smuggles in lyrical barbs among the sumptuous melodies.
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Apr 18, 2013Ghost 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. That he makes it sound so effortless is all the more impressive.
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UncutApr 1, 2013Professor Beam has made his first art movie, and it's a stunner. [May 2013, p.70]
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Under The RadarApr 1, 2013The songs on Ghost On Ghost are not as strong as those from his past. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.92]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 22 out of 29
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Mixed: 5 out of 29
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Negative: 2 out of 29
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Apr 17, 2013
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Apr 16, 2013
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Apr 16, 2013