Langhorne Slim & the Law
The Spirit Moves
Release Date: Aug 7, 2015
Genre(s): Folk, Americana, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative Folk
Record label: Dualtone Music
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Album Review: The Spirit Moves by Langhorne Slim & the Law
Fairly Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
Ever since he released his first record, Langhorne Slim seems to have been searching for a sound that suits his emphatic yet introspective lyrical style and rootsy melodies, from the scrappy sitting-around-the-campfire mood of his 2005 debut When the Sun's Gone Down to the polished and cleanly orchestrated figures on 2009's Be Set Free. On his fifth full-length album, 2015's The Spirit Moves, Slim has finally recruited a full-time backing band, the Law, featuring David Moore on banjo and keyboards, Jeff Ratner on bass, and Malachi DeLorenzo on drums, and in many respects this makes for one of Langhorne Slim's most musically satisfying albums to date, delivering performances that are clever, taut, and intuitive but leave just enough space for Slim's impassioned vocals and elemental guitar work. Slim also had other valuable collaborators on The Spirit Moves -- producer Andrija Tokic has given these sessions just a light buff and polish that allows the details to stand out (and the sparing use of strings and horns gives the arrangements a soothing undertow without robbing the music of its organic tone and feeling), and songwriter Kenny Siegal collaborated with Slim on eight of the album's 12 songs, firming up the frameworks of the tunes while keeping Slim's essential lyrical and melodic personality firmly in place.
Based on rating 3/5
Forged in the aftershock of a series of seismic, life-altering events, Pennsylvanian songwriter Langhorne Slim’s fifth album finds him at full throttle. Forehead vein bulging, he recalls pained stories and testosterone-fuelled trips through the confused passion of post-breakup self-evisceration. Slim also kicked his drug and alcohol problems and relocated to Nashville before The Spirit Moves was recorded, and makes up for its basic Americana melodies and breathy melodrama with a raw and raucous delivery.
Opinion: Excellent
Curiously eccentric but never dull, Langhorne Slim has reached a new high with this album. Recently sober and relocated to Nashville, he teams with engineer Andrija Tokic at the latter’s Bomb Shelter Studio, where good things have been happening (the Alabama Shakes also record there). And Slim is more reflective now, his banjo-driven rock-folk-pop hybrid increased in artistry and depth.
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