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 8
Range 50-100
Spread 14.3
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

The best song is 'Paper And Stone' because the reviewer calls it 'gorgeous' and 'Beam at his best' with standout fingerpicked guitar and violin.

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