Daily Download: "Woman King," Iron & Wine, from "Woman King EP"

Iron & Wine gets bluesy and funky on this song, and yes, the idea is a little frightening, "bluesy" and "funky" being two adjectives that bearded Floridians who sing in an über-white whisper should be plenty cautious about inviting. Sam Beam, the aforementioned bearded Floridian behind Iron & Wine, is most often compared to Nick Drake, and the worst track Drake ever recorded was "Been Smoking Too Long," a flat-out embarrassing flail in the general direction of the blues. The happy surprise: It works beautifully here, largely because Beam adds no bluesy inflections to his voice, coasting along with his usual uninflected whisper (here beautifully overdubbed into harmony), and letting the guitars do the dirty work.
Free Download: "Woman King"