Langhorne Slim, 'Be Set Free' (Kemado)

Earnest troubadour fights corniness to a draw.

Most alt-country fetishizes cowboy days, but Langhorne Slim’s third full-length does so while swiping tricks from this decade’s best rock bands. The joyful chorus of “Say Yes” could have been shouted by Arcade Fire, while “I Love You, But Goodbye” walks the same line between loveliness and dissonance as Wilco. Slim aims for the gut but usually ends up hitting the hips; either way, his relentlessly cloying lyrics ensure that Be Set Free is more suitable for soundtracks and square dances than headphones.

Comments

Got something to say?

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • No HTML tags allowed
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.

More information about formatting options

Are You Human?
If so, enter the four-letter code below.
Image CAPTCHA