Iron and Wine’s latest album Kiss Each Other Clean may surprise previous fans. The formerly, almost exclusively, acoustic band has taken musical leaps in this new album, ranging across pop, rock and funk genres to create a decidedly different Iron and Wine experience.

Sam Beam’s voice has always been a driving force in previous albums. But with an instrument palette much expanded from his older acoustic works, his voice takes on a completely different sound.

In albums like Around The Well or Our Endless Numbered Days, Beam weaves sentimental and nostalgic lyrics with fingerpicked, rhythmic acoustic melodies.

But in Kiss Each Other Clean, tracks like “”Tree by the River”” show that Beam’s voice isn’t limited to acoustic jams. In fact, listeners could suppose that in another life, Beam could be a successful pop singer. Whether that’s good or bad is up to the fans. But it’s arresting how versatile Beam’s voice proves to be in this new album.

Regardless, the experimentation on Kiss Each Other Clean is refreshing. And it’s also pretty impressive coming from a band who has arguably been a one-trick pony for quite a while. A successful, aesthetically enjoyable one, but one-dimensional nonetheless.

Tracks like “”Me and Lazarus”” are funky, catchy and surprising. And the saxaphone solo at the beginning of “”Big Burned Hand”” is fantastic.

Funk is something that somehow works for Iron and Wine. Of all the sounds, the funky, catchy bounce of Kiss Each Other Clean’s funk tracks arguably steal the show.

Other tracks like “”Godless Brother in Love”” revert to the acoustic sound, with the addition of piano. But with such varied and wide-ranging sounds, this track seems almost out of place.

For current Iron and Wine fans, this album may seem a little bizarre. But it’s a fascinating, multidimensional work that shows the band is experimenting with sound.