Comparison answer surface Iron & Wine discography

Hen's Teeth vs The Shepherd's Dog

The Shepherd's Dog currently leads Hen's Teeth in Chorus's Iron & Wine critic-consensus view.

Hen's Teeth sits at 76/100 across 11 reviews, while The Shepherd's Dog sits at 83/100 across 25 reviews. The Shepherd's Dog has the deeper review sample right now. Consensus is tighter around The Shepherd's Dog, which suggests critics are landing in a narrower range. Use this comparison to see where the stronger critic favorite sits against the adjacent discography benchmark.

Score Gap
7
points on Chorus's 0-100 scale
Review Gap
14
reviews separating the current samples
Tighter Consensus
The Shepherd's Dog
lower spread means critics are clustering more tightly
Hen's Teeth by Iron & Wine
Established consensus Higher confidence

Hen's Teeth

Iron & Wine

ChoruScore
76
Reviews
11
Confidence 89%
Sources 11
Range 50-100
Spread 12.3
Chorus Call
Broadly positive consensus

Iron & Wine's Hen's Teeth reconvenes Sam Beam's warm, textural songwriting in a record that critics largely view as a quietly rich continuation of his recent work. Across reviews, the consensus suggests the album succeeds when arrangements expand familiar folk-rock instincts into lush, cinematic spaces — most notably o

Primary Praise

Half Measures is the best song because its open-hearted, slowly-strummed closing cements the album's emotional core.

Primary Criticism

The album’s core strengths are intimate acoustic arrangements, classic singer-songwriter influences, and effective family vocal contributions.

Standout Tracks
Roses In Your Ocean Robin's Egg (feat. I'm With Her)
Source Spread
50 · Under The Radar 100 · The Spill Magazine
The Shepherd's Dog by Iron & Wine
Established consensus Higher score More reviews Tighter consensus

The Shepherd's Dog

Iron & Wine

ChoruScore
83
Reviews
25
Confidence 88%
Sources 25
Range 67-100
Spread 8.2
Chorus Call
Broadly positive consensus

Iron & Wine's The Shepherd's Dog expands Sam Beam's folk introspection into a vividly orchestrated, often haunting record that earns an evident critical thumbs-up. Across 25 professional reviews the collection received an 83.4/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to a widened sonic palette, richer arrang

Primary Praise

The best song is best because its quoted imagery exemplifies Beam’s intimate, metaphoric lyricism.

Primary Criticism

The consensus is largely positive but nuanced: many reviewers welcome the album's lush arrangements and Southern gothic imagery, while some mourn the diminished lo-fi intimacy of e

Standout Tracks
House by the Sea Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car Flightless Bird, American Mouth
Source Spread
67 · The A.V. Club 100 · The Skinny