Iron and Wine: “Kiss Each Other Clean’’

Take a good look at the man on the cover of Iron and Wine’s new album. That’s presumably frontman Sam Beam, caricatured in neon and wading into water with a trio of peacocks nesting behind him. It’s practically a preface for the wide-eyed, panoramic music that awaits, and it’s a long way from the rustic folk art that graced his early releases. Anyone who still expects Iron and Wine to scratch out stark folk music is in for a serious — and seriously refreshing — surprise on “Kiss Each Other Clean.’’ Just as Sufjan Stevens branched out with last year’s “The Age of Adz,’’ Iron and Wine’s latest is something of a cosmic rendering of Beam’s ruminations on religion, love, and relationships. He’s using a Technicolor palette this time out, where guitar and organ somehow make complete sense combined with clarinet on “Rabbit Will Run.’’ Doo-wop singers creep into the country rock of “Half Moon.’’ And a whiff of gospel cuts through the metallic distortion on the opening “Walking Far From Home,’’ with Beam sounding like a preacher in awe of what he shouldn’t desire: “I saw sinners/ Making music/ And I dreamt of that sound/ Dreamt of that sound.’’