Iron and Wine frontman Sam Beam and the Band of Horses singer have been friends for 15 years, during which the South Carolinians have mailed each other their favourite music. The bond has now produced an album of covers which, however enjoyable, doesn’t always take songs by the likes of John and JJ Cale, Ronnie Laine, Bon Iver and Bonnie Raitt to places they haven’t been before. Spiritualized’s The Straight and Narrow is very slightly more country, although it’s such a great song it can’t be heard enough. The pair put more of their own stamp – sublime harmonies, echo and slide guitars – on Sade’s Bulletproof Soul, which makes the awkward transition from light soul to Americana without losing its eerie ennui. The album’s best moment sees the pair remove the quirkiness and synthesisers from Talking Heads’ Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place), but uncover the song’s pure loveliness, and invest it with the haunting sense of wonderment from the best of their own work.
