Our Endless Numbered Days
His first record made in a studio and with a band, produced by Brian Deck in Chicago in the summer of 2003.
Iron & Wine, 2004
- Released
- 23 March 2004
- Recorded
- Summer 2003
- Studio
- Engine Studios, Chicago
- Label
- Sub Pop
- Producer
- Brian Deck
- Length
- 44:47
The debut had been made on a four-track at home. For the second album Beam went to Engine Studios in Chicago with Brian Deck, who played drums, percussion and keyboards, alongside a small band and Sarah Beam on harmony vocals. The title comes from a line in the closing song, Passing Afternoon.
It scored 84 on Metacritic, and Pitchfork gave it 8.6 and Best New Music. NME's Rob Fitzpatrick wrote that death and sorrow were never far from its surface. Sub Pop says it has sold more than 556,000 copies. A deluxe edition in 2019 added eight unheard demos, with notes by Amanda Petrusich, who called it "a timeless record about the passage of time." Beam said hearing the demos again was like finding a forgotten picture of himself. Claire Fuller's 2015 debut novel takes its title from the album.
Track listing
- On Your Wings3:53
- Naked as We Came2:33
- Cinder and Smoke5:44
- Sunset Soon Forgotten3:20
- Teeth in the Grass2:22
- Love and Some Verses3:40
- Radio War1:56
- Each Coming Night3:28
- Free Until They Cut Me Down4:35
- Fever Dream4:16
- Sodom, South Georgia4:59
- Passing Afternoon4:01
Personnel
- Sam Beam vocals, guitars, slide guitar, banjo, mandolin
- Brian Deck producer, drums, percussion, keyboards
- EJ Holowicki bass
- Patrick McKinney electric guitar
- Jeff McGriff percussion
- Jonathan Bradley percussion
- Sarah Beam harmony vocals
More from Iron & Wine
The Shepherd's Dog (2007)
Sources
- Our Endless Numbered Days, Wikipedia
- Our Endless Numbered Days (Deluxe Edition), Sub Pop (2019-03-22)
- Our Endless Numbered Days turns 20, Stereogum (2024-03-22)
- Our Endless Numbered Days (SPCD 630), Discogs
- Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days, NME