Langhorne Slim - The Electric Love Letter

With the current fuss over often tired, ultra-abrasive music that corners you over every hill, one often becomes numb, fearful and/or unable to accept change when something pleasant and amazingly diverse as Langhorne Slim comes along. It was such a refreshing change and release of self to hear music that took me to an uncommon landscape. The Electric Love Letter is a presentable piece of work that received my undivided attention. It's emotional without being whiny, star-quality entertainment, without the glitz, glamour, and red carpet. It features very cool harmonica skills and a medley of other instruments, like the accordion and the tuba, held together by a Slim’s raw, yet clever voice. The disc starts off with “My Future,” written by Willie Brown (Future Blues) and wrenches the heart on “Lord,” with ear-grabbing lyrics such as “A man’s heart is his own, and only he can break it/I’d start all over alone, if only I could take it” and the sweet-and-sour “Darling it’s a crime that you left me so cold/That I can’t trust myself with this Hell I am excepting.” Towards the end, it turns into an almost somber, melancholy note to the Higher Up. “One Sunday Morning” is an amusing track, but the kicker is a hidden, live track that is an incredible display of the artist’s capabilities to engross his audience totally. I found that the music of Love Letter is not only untiring, it and Slim have brought a novel concept for bluegrass music to the table for a younger generation. I am a rather huge fan of bluegrass, and I’m often agitated that I can’t find newer, younger artists willing to take on the genre, though it is a tricky area of music to skillfully play. If you find yourself thinking Slim’s voice a bit annoying, you must remember: you can’t have bluegrass without those twangy, unrefined vocals. It wouldn’t be as…tasteful. Moreover, in my opinion, the answer is yes, it is worthy of a good old-fashioned hoedown. [www.langhorneslim.com]