Iron and Wine

I practically forgot the release of the new Iron and Wine album this Wednesday...until I remembered.
After eagerly pulling up Kiss Each Other Clean on iTunes, I promptly clicked on the first song and listened with dismay. The slightly overproduced, possibly Christian music radio station sounds of "Walking from Home" were surely a fluke in an otherwise stellar album. Right?
I listened on.
Funk drumming?
Is that a saxophone?
How DARE you?!
I don't know what you were thinking, Sam Beam, but this beat doesn't sound like yours. The use of keyboard and snare drum are nice in their own right, but I can't help but think I have heard this before. Is it Ben Folds? Oh my God, is it Phil Collins?!
I suppose I should have seen it coming. After the release of Shepherd's Dog, I could feel the tides were changing and that whispery, unfiltered sound I had come to know and love over the years was evolving into something...else. I understand that artists change, but I guess I just wasn't ready.
Kudos, Mr. Beam, for refusing to stagnate, I guess. In the meantime, I will give Kiss Each Other Clean a few more goes, but will probably cling for dear life to albums past.