''Our Endless Numbered Days'' is the second studio album from

Iron & Wine Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live alb ...

. Released on March 23, 2004 on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

, it was the first non-solo effort by

Sam Beam Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several extended play, EPs and Single (music), singles, as well as a few music download, dow ...

under his Iron & Wine moniker. Limited edition copies of the vinyl LP came with a bonus 7" vinyl single. Limited edition copies of the CD came with a bonus CD single. On January 29, 2019, Sub Pop announced that a deluxe edition of the album commemorating its 15th anniversary would be released on March 22, 2019, featuring previously unreleased demos of eight of the tracks from the original album. The album's title comes from the lyrics of the song "Passing Afternoon": "There are things that drift away like our endless, numbered days."

Background

The album marked a change in Iron & Wine's sound, as it was his first produced in a professional studio. Beam's only previous album, '' The Creek Drank the Cradle'', was recorded entirely on a four-track tape recorder at his home.

Reception

''Our Endless Numbered Days'' has received widespread critical acclaim since its release. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 84, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *Sam Beam - vocals, guitars, slide guitars, banjo, mandolin *Brian Deck - drums, percussion, keyboards *EJ Holowicki - bass *Patrick McKinney - electric guitar *Jeff McGriff - percussion *Jonathan Bradley - percussion *Sarah Beam - harmony vocals

Certifications

Appearances in popular media

"Passing Afternoon" was played at the end of "Wilson's Heart," the finale of the fourth season of ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' and the second series of ''After Life''. "Naked as We Came," "Trapeze Swinger" (a song not in this album) and "Sunset Soon Forgotten" were featured in the 2004

dramedy Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

'' In Good Company''. "Each Coming Night" is featured in the 2010 film '' The Last Song'', starring

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

. "Naked As We Came" is featured at the end of the 4th episode of the 2nd season of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'', when Jenny has her hair cut by Shane. "Naked As We Came" is also featured in the 9th episode of the first season of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', when Cristina and Izzie plan a secret autopsy of a patient's sudden death. "Naked As We Came" is also featured in the 2003 documentary ''Tarnation'', directed by

Jonathan Caouette Jonathan Caouette is an American film director, writer, editor and actor. Early life and education Caouette's mother was mentally ill and frequently institutionalized. He never knew his father, being raised between his mother, grandparents an ...

Claire Fuller Claire Fuller (born 9 February 1967 in Oxfordshire) is an English author. She won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for her first novel, '' Our Endless Numbered Days'', the BBC Opening Lines Short Story Competition in 2014, and the Royal Academy & ...

's 2015 debut novel, '' Our Endless Numbered Days'', is named after the album.

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Iron & Wine albums Sub Pop albums Albums produced by Brian Deck