Acclaimed songwriter Langhorne Slim returns with another set of progressive folk music. He has certainly added a broader musical style to his repertoire as well as the inevitable maturity that comes with being comfortable with himself as an artist but has it made this latest offering a better one?
At times it certainly is the most engaging he has ever been. Take 'Cinderella' for example, it really jumps out at you as an exuberantly raucous song; full of bombast and an energy that is intended to excite the listener as much as it did the group playing it. It breaks cleanly free from his normal style of music and stands as a great piece of anthemic folk rock, up there with Wilco for sure. It is in my opinion the best song he has ever recorded.
Sadly the rest of the album does not reach the peaks found in this track. A few of the songs, including opening track 'Back To The Wild' and 'Land Of Dreams' are solid songs, very enjoyable to listen to but equally forgettable and other efforts such as 'Say Yes' and 'Blown Your Mind' just immerse themselves too much in a stylised mournfulness that they ring hollow.
He sounds the best when he is leaving his downbeat style and pumping up the atmosphere, as displayed in 'Yer Wrong' and the great album closer, 'Boots Boy.' These are songs that lift the spirits and take his talent onto another level. The rest of the album is quite good but it's when he tears away at the walls of his own comfort zone that the greatness come out, and that is something that deserves to be displayed from start to finish on his next album, hopefully.