4/30 Update: We’ve removed copies of Light Verse from our site because today is the day of our event with Iron & Wine. Colored vinyl LP & CD copies of the album are available for in-store purchase at Grimey’s.
Please make plans to join us on Tuesday, April 30th, for an in-store performance and album signing by Iron & Wine! Sam Beam will be here to celebrate the release of Light Verse, which is due out Friday, April 26th via Sub Pop Records. Recorded at Waystation Studio in Laurel Canyon, with an additional session at Silent ZooStudio with a 24-piece orchestra, Light Verse is Beam’s seventh full-length studio album and his fifth full-length for Sub Pop. After years of being fans of his, we’re thrilled to be able to host Beam at Grimey’s! Light Verse is available to preorder now on limited edition blue splatter colored vinyl (the LOSER Edition) and CD in the record store and on our webstore here. All preorders placed for local, store pickup will include a wristband* for Iron & Wine’s post-performance album signing. Space is limited. *Wristbands are required for the signing and guarantee entrance to the in-store performance; these will be available for pickup starting on Friday, April 26th, along with Light Verse.
When the pandemic began, and the world shut down, so did the process of creating for Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam. In its place was a domesticity that the singer hadn’t felt in a long time, and although it was filled with many rewards, making music was not one of them. Reflecting on that time, Beam notes: “I feel blessed and grateful that I and most of my friends and family made it through the pandemic relatively unscathed compared to so many others, but it completely paralyzed the songwriter in me. The last thing I wanted to write about was COVID, and yet every moment I sat with my pen, it lingered around the edges and wouldn’t leave. This lasted for over two years.”
The journey back began with a recording session in Memphis to record a handful of Lori McKenna tracks for the EP Lori with friend and producer Matt Ross-Spang. The cathartic experience reconnected Beam with his love for making music, and soon enough the paralysis had passed, and he was finishing lyrics and booking studio time for what would become Light Verse.
On the new album Beam lyrically takes focus on a series of both fictional and personal insights, filled with desperate characters and wide-eyed optimists, offering promise and a dose of heartache, tears and laughter, life and love. While this may be Iron & Wine’s most playful record, Beam says the title mostly reflects the way the songs were born with joy after the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic. Moment by moment, they delight in being pointed or silly (or both) and attempt beauty over prettiness.
Sam Beam will be in Nashville to support the new film Who Can See Forever: A Portrait of Iron & Wine. On April 29th the film shows at Belcourt Theatre as a part of their music themed film series, Music City Mondays. After the 8:00 pm show, Beam will participate in a post-screening discussion moderated by Leanne Merritt, DJ and host of WXNA's X-posure. For tickets and information visit belcourt.org. Later this year, Iron & Wine will return to Nashville for a performance at The Ryman Auditorium on Saturday, August 24th (tickets available here). But meanwhile, don’t miss your chance to see Iron & Wine play an intimate set in the record store and get your copy of Light Verse signed by Beam.*
*Wristbands required for the signing—these are free with preorder of the album in the shop and on our site here.)
All who preorder in advance will receive an email with run-of-event details approximately 24 hours before the release of the album. Meanwhile please reach out to us if you have any questions about our event or preorder: grimeys.records @ gmail.com
IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION!
Our parking lot is shared with other rad businesses and it is a finite space, so parking is limited. Another parking option is the pay lot behind Tiger Bar, Elegy Coffee and Mickey's off Gallatin Road, two blocks down the street.
Please use EXTREME CAUTION if parking on the narrow neighborhood streets. Too many cars make these roads impassable and result in angry neighbors, police calls, tickets and towing.
We don’t want to anger or disrespect any of our neighbors. If you block access to driveways, mail boxes, or park legally on both sides of a street , making it essentially impassable, you will be ticketed or towed.
Please consider carpooling, ride-sharing, walking, biking, scooting, roller skating, or taking the bus to attend this Grimey’s event.
Iron & Wine’s Light Verse LOSER Edition.