Musical Odyssey (Pt. 2)

After my Sufjan discovery, I began to await my new issue of Paste Magazine with great excitement. What new musical gem would be unearthed? There seemed to be a plethora of acts that were either Christian-tinged or even formerly on the Christian "circuit" (like Mute Math), but nothing really grabbed me for a while:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAtXKS9ZxvM]

The next one to really take hold was Iron and Wine, the solo project by Austin-based Sam Beam. While he isn't in the same kind of vain as Sufjan's spirituality-flavored folk, there was a depth and beauty to it that bordered on haunting. It was the video for "Naked As We Came" that really drew me in, a piece that touches on death and resurrection, baptism and blessing, innocence and love, reconciliation and possibility:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd-A-iiPoLg]

To be continued...