Kiss Each Other Clean - Iron & Wine
User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36

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  1. bobomonkey
    Jan 27, 2011
    9
    Just finished my first listen and I'm already in love with the album. In reading some of the critic's reviews, I was expecting a series of highs and lows or at least a few disappointments sprinkled among the triumphs. The disappointments never really came, though. I will admit, however, I started out as a pretty big Iron and Wine fan, so maybe I am predisposed to liking the album and ignoring its flaws. Highlights include the opening track, "Walking Far from Home", and the very funky "Big Burned Hand". Buy or download and enjoy!… Expand
  2. ediebutt
    Apr 7, 2011
    9
    It would be ridiculous to attempt to describe each of the album's 10 tunes, since a few clicks of your mouse will deliver the album to your doorstep, figurative or literal, and my verbose descriptions would probably bore you. But let me assure you, not one piece of Kiss Each Other Clean is boring. There is the relaxed groove (supplemented by electronic sounds) of "Monkeys Uptown," one of the most immediate tracks on the album; there is the poignant piano-led ballad "Godless Brother In Love," whose lyrics confront loss and parents' feelings about children; there is the doo-wop/country/folk mash-up "Half Moon," where Beam's influences - and emotions - are clear: "I wake beside you on the floor/ Counting your breathing/ 'Cause I can't see nothing in this half moon/ Lay me down if i should lose you." But most of all, there is the finale "Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me." It is not so much a denouement or an epilogue as it is a culmination of Beam's entire career - an epitome of music that most writers strive for but never find. It comes just in time, right after Kiss Each Other's two weakest tracks, the Dave Matthews Band-esque "Big Burned Hand" and the melancholy ballad "Glad Man Singing." While these two tracks would take the reins on any other album, they don't quite summit the peak that the rest of Kiss Each Other's songs do: they have the oxygen to make it up K2, not Everest. At this point, most listeners might be ready to press "repeat," expecting the closer to be some sort of dulcet ballad like the two that closed Our Endless Numbered Days and The Shepherd's Dog. But no. Rest of this is at http://www.thetunemusic.com/2011/03/iron-wine-kiss-each-other-clean-2011.html :)… Expand
  3. LordoftheBrown
    Sep 2, 2011
    9
    This is my favorite Iron and Wine album by far. I've been a fan from the beginning, even seeing them perform in tiny bars with leaking ceilings. I love this record not only because it has giant cajones, but because it is an uplifting and beautiful piece of work.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. All Music Guide
    Dec 7, 2011
    80
    Kiss Each Other Clean is the result of years of growth and change, and though that sounds incredibly boring, it's also a record full of roiling emotion, tender wit, and deeply felt melodic beauty.
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  2. Mojo
    Apr 20, 2011
    40
    Fourth outing for the hirsute folk/pop alchemist. [Feb. 2011, p. 107]
  3. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Apr 6, 2011
    72
    t may take a few albums for him to perfect the new sound, and we should expect that, keeping in mind that when he does, the results may very well be awe-inspiring. At the moment, however, Kiss Each Other Clean just isn't there yet.
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