Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free

I was introduced to Langhorne Slim at Lollapalooza this year. It was easily one of the most intense, fun and deep performances I saw all year. Langhorne started as a solo blues-folky and added some accompaniment along the way. At Lolla, he had brought his upright bass player and drummer. (The former of which I had the great distinction of having a fairly frightening way drunk conversation with at a Chicago bus stop.)

On this album, Langhorne throws in the kitchen sink. Various percussion, keyboards, strings all serve to change dusty black and white photographs into rich colorful landscape paintings. Sean's songs, like many folkies, focus around the travelling vagabond's life. The one who's always looking for a home and is never truly satisfied. The one who falls in love with every woman he meets, but not enough to stay. It's not a new concept, but Langhorne's lyrics have an originality to them, ("I don't wanna break your heart, but I probably will."), and his Ben-Harper-like voice (or maybe an American Cat Stevens) really sells the romanticism of the trip.

And before I sell his folky-ness (folkivity?) too much, let us not forget what I said about throwing in the kitchen sink. Some of these songs, "Say Yes" and "Cinderella" for example, could easily be loved by your average fan of Arcade Fire or Modest Mouse. A lyric like the former's, "We're in California, but it might as well be the moon." mixed with it's group vocal dynamic could probably swing the Polyphonic Spree into doing a cover.

The only unfortunate thing is that this album was released in October. The vibe is clearly a May release. Now, we have to enjoy this music while fighting the cold and the snow. A perfect example is the country waltz barn dance "So Glad I'm Coming Home", but pretty much the rest of the album should be enjoyed down by the crick in the sunshine. (4 of 5 stars)