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Archive Series

Iron & Wine’s Archive Series pulls from tapes found in the back corners of closets and dusty shoe boxes – long neglected, but never forgotten. The Archive Series has released five volumes to-date with more in the works.

Archive Series Volume No. 1
In 2015 Iron & Wine released Archive Series Volume No. 1 on Sam’s own Black Cricket Recording Co. label. The first in an ongoing series of releases of songs handpicked from the Iron & Wine vault, sequenced and packaged with care and attention to filling in any gaps in the discography. Archive Series Volume No. 1 features 16 previously unlreased songs, recorded at home at the same time as those on Iron & Wine’s debut album, The Creek Drank The Cradle (2010). Widely bootlegged for years, these songs provide an early glimpse into Sam’s songwriting output and stand on their own as a companion release to Creek… 

Archive Series Volume No. 2
Iron & Wine continued the Archive Series in quick succession, with the release Archive Series Volume No. 2 (2015) – a limited edition 7″ featuring two covers: Albuquerque (Neil Young) & It’s the Same Old Song (The Four Tops) and original artwork by Plastic Crimewave.

Archive Series Volume No. 3
As part of Record Store Day 2017 – the Iron & Wine Archive Series returned with Archive Series Volume No. 3 – a limited edition blue vinyl 12″, featuring two previously unreleased songs from 1999-2001. Side A: Stranger Lay Beside Me Side B: Miss Bottom of the Hill

Archive Series Volume No. 4
In commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of The Shepherd’s Dog, Black Cricket Recording Co. released Iron & Wine’s Archive Series Volume No. 4 (2017), a limited edition tour + webshop only gold + pink vinyl pressing (both sold out). Known to most fans as most of “The Shepherd’s Dog Acoustic,” the tracks were initially recorded as a  free download shortly after its release 10 years ago. 

Archive Series Volume No. 5: Tallahassee
In 2021, Iron & Wine released Tallahassee; Archive Series Volume No. 5, the lost-in-time debut album. A collection of songs recorded over a two-year (1998-99) window during which Sam Beam attended Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts. Tallahassee doesn’t attempt to re-write history but instead aims to document the very first steps in Beam’s journey to becoming one of America’s most original and distinctive artists.