steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Langhorne Slim

"Electric Love Letter" CDEP

Narnack Records 

Genres: country blues, rockabilly

Narnack Records
381 Broadway
Fourth Floor
NY, NY 10013

Sep 13 - 19 2004

Electric Love Letter starts with a cover of old-timey blues guitarist Willie Brown's "No Future," and right off the bat we know where Langhorne Slim's influences lie.  Although he has a definite rock ethic in his music, Slim knows exactly where he's coming from - all of these songs are lovable, true-to-form country-blues numbers.

The "My Future" cover and "Loretta Lee Jones" see Slim's affinity for rockabilly blues - with liberal doses of foot-stomping energy, gritty vocals, and good ol' harmonica, he'll get your hips shaking and your mood up in no time.  The hidden track, a live version of "Cut It Down," is also in the same vein; the distant, echoing recording doesn't interfere with Slim's energy at all.

However, Electric Love Letter's best songs are those that choose to meander around a bit more, touching on slow blues and folk.  "Lord" is touchingly emotional - infectiously so - and "One Sunday Morning" should comfort anyone in need of a good cry.  "The Electric Love Letter," meanwhile, is this EP's best song - its wonderful melody, as well as Slim's superb vocals, make for a minor classic... and a song worth holding on to.  Electric Love Letter may be short, but it shouldn't be ignored - I'd rather have six songs this good than an album's worth of average music.

87%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 5 tracks + 1 hidden, distributed by the label, released 2004]