On 'Hen's Teeth': An Interview with Iron & Wine

(Photo Credit: Kim Black)   

Self‑admittedly, before this month, I hadn’t spent much time listening to the great mind that is Sam Beam—better known as Iron & Wine. That changed quickly when his new album, Hen’s Teeth, landed in my lap for review and, shortly after, I found myself sitting down for a one‑on‑one conversation with the man behind the music. What began as a crash course in his catalog became an unexpectedly rich dive into the artistry, humor, and thoughtfulness that shape his work. Stepping into that interview as a near‑newcomer gave me a unique vantage point—one that made every insight feel fresh, surprising, and all the more meaningful.

After your typical friendly, how’s the weather intros, we wasted no time diving into what really matters: The music.

Before we get into the thick of it, what has been inspiring you lately? Musically or otherwise?

“I was in Florida working on this Broadway musical with these New York folks and that's been on my mind because it’s a lot of work. But it's cool. And music, there’s a duo I heard out of Philadelphia, brother sister duo, Sam and Louise Sullivan, I thought they were great, check 'em out.”

Hen's Teeth is a sibling album to Light Verse, and both were written simultaneously. How did working on these two records at the same time shape the emotional or musical identity of each one?

“Well, you know, I wasn’t really thinking of them as two records at the time, I was just recording. I went in to make one and ended up with almost enough to make a second one. They were all started in the pandemic and I thought I was having a writing block. But really, what was happening was I just couldn’t finish things. You know, it was just hard to focus. I had dates on the calendar to start recording, I like a deadline. We recorded things over the course of a year, it was like two or three, maybe four sessions. And then there would be breaks in between. So after a session, I kind of knew what the band was doing, I could finish up songs knowing what they could do."

"I didn’t really think of what song is going to go on what, I was just recording. And then when I approached the sequences of them, the first record happened intuitively. I spent a lot on some orchestra stuff. So once you start doing those, they all kind of had a kinship to each other, and a lot of the ones with the orchestra stuff ended up on the first one. The feel of the first one (Light Verse) is a bit ornate. The form of them is stranger, more exploratory.

This one (Hen's Teeth) is a bit more straightforward. It’s gregarious and hairy in a lot of places, but the form is kind of straightforward. They got a bit more of a pulse, where the other ones a bit more ornamental.”

You mentioned finishing some of the songs on your own, how do you know when a song is finished?

“You know, either you get tired and you don’t have anything else to give it or you know, with any creative thing, whether it’s a painting, a song, or building a house. You could keep tweaking it forever. Theres no way to know, you can always keep changing. But like I said, I love a deadline. And sometimes you just get to the point where you know, that feels right, I'm kind of tired of working on this, lets do something else”.

How do you approach re-arranging older songs for your live shows?

"You know, I'm a band with one permanent member. So, the people keep shifting in and out of the band. You could try to play the song exactly the same and it would be different. You just sort of try to put a spin on something. I treat the songs like scripts. You could do it with different actors and it’ll be a very different scene, or you know, change the setting slightly and it says a different thing. But there’s no one way to do it, I don’t have a checklist or anything”.

Do you think there is a core to your sound, or is reinvention part of your identity because you are the only permanent member and get to work with different artists?

“I think if you look it over there's a certain type of approach to a song, that’s you know, in my bag. You know, there's a folk element to it. But I've also tried lots of different styles, lots of different instrumentation, lots of different genres if you will. Honestly, the thing that ties it together is my voice. It’s the one thing I don’t change, that I can't change.  It's unique.  You know, I feel lucky in that I can kind of do what I like, at this point I feel really blessed”.

Is there a song on Hen's Teeth that is your favorite, or you are most proud of?

“You know, they’re all a little different. I can say, there’s a song called "Grace Notes" that I worked really hard on. The words mean a lot to me. But then there’s one  like "Dates and Dead People" that I wouldn’t have ever been able to, 20 years ago when I was starting, and knew like three cowboy chords. That me would hear that song and go like ‘Wow, that’s cool, I can't believe you did that’. Over the years you figure out how to do certain things and meet certain people that are super inspiring."

"It's magical for me to hear, not because I did it, but you know, just this effort I did with all my friends and it's just cool. Whereas you know, other ones you can hear the work I put into it, and be like oh, that’s cool. But to be honest, between those two, the group effort is more exciting to me.”

What do you want your fans to take away from this album?

"You know, I want them to enjoy it. It's how I like to spend my life, making these things.  I'm a maker. I want it to bring pleasure to people. I want them to want to hear it again. The way that these two are, you know, kissing cousins kind of records. I wouldn’t be upset if they listened to Light Verse then this one (Hen's Teeth) back to back, over and over again.”

By the end of our conversation, I walked away with a sense of connection that only deepened my new appreciation for Iron & Wine. If this interview and upcoming album is to be your introduction to Sam Beam, you’re in good company. There is no wrong time to discover an artist this thoughtful and timeless.