Back in 2004, Iron & Wine dipped into mainstream with its cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” a song from the colossally popular “Garden State” soundtrack, the one CD that made indie not so “indie” anymore.

Since then, the band, which is really just the stage name of its single singer-songwriter Sam Beam, has become more widely loved than anyone could have foreseen, emerging as the go-to chill-out for every sensibly liberal, pot-smoking girl across college campuses nationwide.

Iron & Wine’s 2004 record “Our Endless Numbered Days,” fat with crowd-friendly singles like “Naked as We Came” and “Cinder & Smoke,” even became an unlikely iTunes hit, making the band one of the most commercially accepted indie (or pseudo-indie) music acts of its day.

Considering all the buzz, expectations were high for Iron & Wine’s 2007 album “The Shepherd’s Dog.” And even as someone whose love for this band is only marginal at best, I must admit, the record is not bad.

Tinged with Iron & Wine’s characteristic acoustic style and similarly placid lyrics, “The Shepherd’s Dog” successfully achieves its evident goal: to pluck at our heartstrings with the dexterity and grace of Beam’s finger-picking.

In addition to its softness, “The Shepherd’s Dog” comes with a healthy stock of intriguing, socially relevant lyrics, which Beam stated in an interview with The Independent were “definitely inspired by political confusion, because [he] was really taken aback when Bush got reelected.”

So there you have it. It’s a classic liberal musician makes political record. But the whole thing’s not nearly that simple. In fact, without knowing it, no one would ever guess that this album was inspired by Beam’s confessed “political confusion.” Because really, who listens to an Iron & Wine album for its lyrics?

In truth, Iron & Wine’s music is all about the lovely, familiar melodies sung in Beam’s blissful, lethargic baritone, layered atop soothing country synths and the hint of a bass or a banjo. It’s all at once like driving down a Texas highway at night, hiking in the Tennessee countryside and feeling your toes in the Florida sand. It’s the sound of the American south for a generation of music fans to whom Iron & Wine provide a much-needed sabbatical from cynicism.

Highlights of “The Shepherd’s Dog” include “Carousel,” “Resurrection Fern” and the more upbeat “Boy with a Coin,” the record’s first single. It’s all available on iTunes or in any record store.

One more thing: For those of you (ahem, most of you) who refuse to pay for music, check out Iron & Wine’s MySpace, on which every song from “The Shepherd’s Dog” can be heard for free. How’s that for not selling out?

Sam Beam, obviously a fan of art before commerce, must be repenting for the popularity of his “Such Great Heights” cover.