When The Sun's Gone Down

Something of a one-man mixture of the Cramps, Beck's early indie records (circa One Foot in the Grave), and the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou, Langhorne Slim offers a sardonic, modern take on traditional folk, country, and blues. Fancifully dubbed "the bastard son of Hasil Adkins" in some of his early press releases, Langhorne Slim's classic 15 song debut, 'When the Sun's Gone Down' ,will be available on Vinyl for the fist time. Way past due for this kicker of an album. Langhorne Slim is not another neo-folkie with a song to sing if it were not for the shear exuberance of his performance style on When the Sun's Gone Down. He kicks off with the energetic, upbeat "In the Midnight," a little ditty accompanied by a frantic drumbeat and a jaunty banjo. Slim's also joined by a group of singers who add odds and ends that can loosely be described as "background vocals." They shout and soar, creating yet another odd texture to these fun, offbeat songs. The acoustic arrangements remind one a bit of late-'60s folk-rock, the kind that groups like the Incredible String Band made in Britain. "Sisterhood" begins with an atmospheric organ before dropping into a banjo-guitar-bass and percussion setup that unrolls like a psychedelic Sunday afternoon. Even on a simple song like "I Ain't Proud" Slim twists and turns and spits out each lyric like they really -- honest to God -- mean something.If folk/americana is to have any future, however, artists will have to move in new, provocative ways like Slim does on When the Sun's Gone Down. This reissue is first available at record stores on Record Store Day.1. In The Midnight2. Set Em Up3. Mary4. Sisterhood5. The Electric Love Letter6. And If It's True7. Henshaw Shuffle (Drunken Horse)8. Drowning9. I Aint Proud10. Loretta Lee Jones11. By The Time The Sun's Gone Down12. Hope And Fulfillment 13. I Will14. Checking Out15. I Love To Dance