Before recording his third full-length album as Iron & Wine, singer-songwriter Sam Beam specialized in folk songs so stark and wispy that they seemed almost uncomfortably intimate and unbearably morose. The songs on "The Shepherd's Dog" are more relaxed than melancholy, and benefit greatly active yet low-key arrangements that emphasize the delicacy of Beam's melodies, and the gentle timbre of his voice. The album's first single "Boy With A Coin" is especially chilly and ethereal, and would seem to float away were it not tethered to the earth by its crisp, metallic arpeggiated guitar chords.

Anna Jarvinen's songs tend to drift and wander through a turbulent emotional landscape. "Gotgatan," the opening cut from the Swedish songwriter's most recent album "Jag Fick Feeling," is a brisk country rock number that shows off a gorgeous, swelling viola part that perfectly complements Jarvinen's distinct, stirring singing voice. The tune follows a few odd yet entirely pleasant melodic tangents before reaching an abrupt, genuinely surprising conclusion.

Though you might expect a version of the Crystals' 1962 single "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)" sung by a man to be ironic, or even sort of insulting, Grizzly Bear's take on the song manages to express its troubling blend of masochism and affection without any condescension. The band are mostly faithful to Phil Spector's spare arrangement, but where the original recording takes a turn into a lush, string-laden section, Grizzly Bear allow their guitars to become louder and more intense without quite rocking out. Their haunting, boyish harmonies aren't quite as sweet as that of the Crystals, but they lend the piece a grim, sober feeling that suits the bittersweet tone of its lyrics.