Sometimes it’s just best to drop the whole genre tag and just say: “dude, it’s rock ‘n’ roll at its finest.” Langhorne Slim has elements of country, folk, soul and alt rock flowing through the speakers all at once, and like a good mixed drink, the end result is finer than any individual part. Slim boasts “I’m tough enough to run with the bulls,” and while my use of the metaphor is out of context with the songs, it does describe his song writing.

Slim is a bit of an eclectic master with themes of joy and misery intermingling with equal passion. Essentially, he is fearless in bending songs around multiple influences. Horns play on a number of tracks and in a different way each time. On “Spirit Moves” he uses them as a counter melody similar to Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring Of Fire” and then brings them back later for “Life’s A Bell” as a Memphis Horns/Stax/Otis Redding tool for emotional emphasis. With the ever present acoustic instruments some songs drift towards sounds reminiscent of Nick Drake and Cat Stevens but the album as a whole pulls everything back into that unique Langhorne Slim vision.

The Spirit Moves is filled with moments that seem both intimate and celebratory, resulting in a record that gives inspiring highs and tragic lows. As the needle rises off of side B, you find yourself flipping it back to side A for another listen… and things can’t get much better than that.

You can pick up The Spirit Moves on all the usual mediums or order it direct from Dualtone with extra swag. Unfortunately, the coke bottle green vinyl seems to be sold out.