Iron & Wine has revealed details of its eighth studio album, Hen's Teeth, set for release on February 27 via Sub Pop. The announcement comes with the heartfelt single In Your Ocean, marking the band's return following 2024's Grammy-nominated Light Verse. Sam Beam describes the album as an 'impossible' gift.
Iron & Wine, the project of South Carolina singer-songwriter Sam Beam, has been a fixture in the music scene since the early 2000s, collaborating with artists such as Fiona Apple, Calexico, and Jesca Hoop. The new album, Hen's Teeth, serves as a companion to the band's previous release, Light Verse, from 2024, which earned a Grammy nomination.
Produced by Dave Way—known for his work with Fiona Apple, Jakob Dylan, and Sheryl Crow—Hen's Teeth features Beam teaming up with his daughter Arden on vocals for tracks including Roses, Singing Saw, Defiance, Ohio, and Grace Notes. The Grammy-winning Americana trio I'm With Her contributes to Robin's Egg and Wait Up.
The lead single, In Your Ocean, explores themes of deep love, with Beam singing: “Praying for dry ground / Though I only want to drown / When I find myself swimming in your ocean.” A video directed by Spencer Kelly accompanies the track.
Beam explains the album's title: “To me it suggests the impossible. Hen’s teeth do not exist. And that’s what this record felt like: a gift that shouldn’t be there but it is. An impossible thing but it’s real.”
The full tracklist includes: Roses; Paper And Stone; Robin's Egg (ft. I'm With Her); Singing Saw; In Your Ocean; Defiance, Ohio; Wait Up (ft. I'm With Her); Grace Notes; Dates And Dead People; Half Measures.
Iron & Wine plans UK performances later in 2026, with details forthcoming. Recently, Beam participated in a benefit concert for the 20th anniversary of the film Garden State, which prominently featured the band's music on its soundtrack.
