Almost ten years to the day since their last collaborative effort, Iron & Wine‘s Sam Beam and Band of Horses‘ Ben Bridwell have previewed their forthcoming covers EP.
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The new EP, titled Making Good Time, will be released on Sept. 12 and features the duo offering up covers of five tracks, including U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Roxy Music’s “More Than This,” and Boygenius’ “Ketchum, ID.”
Working with producer Brad Cook and the house band at his North Carolina studio earlier this year, the sessions also resulted in one additional cover, with the pair previewing the new set with their rendition of Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s “Luther.”
Released in November 2024 as the third single from Lamar’s surprise-released GNX album, “Luther” joined “Squabble Up” as the record’s two chart-topping singles. Lamar’s fourth appearance atop the Hot 100 that year, its far-reaching influence apparently impacted Bridwell enough for it to make the cut for the new EP.
“I chose to focus on ‘Luther’ after kinda hitting a wall wondering which songs would be best to contribute,” Bridwell noted in a press release (via Pitchfork). “After much hand-wringing, it hit me, ‘Why not just do my favorite song?’
“I’d been playing the then–newly released GNX album on repeat and that song in particular with my girls to the point of exhaustion.”
Beam and Bridwell first joined forces a decade ago for the Sing into My Mouth album, which was released in July 2015. Named for their cover of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” the record saw the pair reimagining cuts by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Sade, Spiritualized, John Cale and more.
While the record peaked at No. 116 on the Billboard 200, it reached the top ten for the Folk Albums and Independent Albums charts, along with a No. 14 placing on the Top Rock Albums chart.
Alongside the release of their new EP, Iron & Wine and Band of Horses will also be embarking on a co-headling tour of North America throughout September and October.
Listen to the pair’s cover of “Luther” below.
