Langhorne Slim, a singer and guitarist, fuses elements drawn from the Cramps, Beck’s initial lo-fi indie outings around One Foot in the Grave, and the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? into a wry, contemporary revision of folk, country, and blues traditions. Early promotional materials sometimes labeled him the bastard son of Hasil Adkins, though he actually grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Brooklyn following his graduation from the State University of New York at Purchase. A self-released demo attracted regional notice and internet buzz, leading to recurring support slots for the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players; soon afterward he joined the roster of Narnack Records and issued the EP Electric Love Letter in March 2004. The following spring brought the fuller, ensemble-driven album When the Sun’s Gone Down. Extensive road work occupied the ensuing twelve months, with opening appearances alongside Lucero and Murder by Death performed by drummer Malachi DeLorenzo and upright bassist Paul DeFiglia, collectively known as the War Eagles. In 2006 Langhorne Slim moved to the V2 label, which put out the fresh EP Engine that September while he completed work on his next long-player under the guidance of Sam Kassirer, keyboardist for Josh Ritter. When that arrangement collapsed, the group found itself without a home until Kemado Records stepped in to release the self-titled Langhorne Slim album in 2008. A follow-up, Be Set Free, arrived the next year. By 2012, performing with a fresh ensemble called the Law, Slim delivered The Way We Move on Ramseur Records; its title song appeared both in the Tina Fey movie Admission and in a Microsoft advertisement. His fifth studio album, The Spirit Moves, surfaced in 2015.
