Engine EP

Langhorne Slim’s songs are deceptively simple, but if you listen to the words, they are anything but. Each song describes the nuances and complexities of human relationships. He breaks us right into this theme with “English Tea,” where he describes loving the details of someone, but not necessarily wanting to be with her. The standout track of this little gem comes in track two, “Restless”: “I packed a picnic lacking seriously on food/I had more wine than I knew what with to do.” Besides clever turns like this, you will be hard-pressed to get the hook of this song out of your head for days.

This EP does a fantastic job of displaying Slim’s musical diversity and range in just four tracks. “Honey Pie” even shows Slim getting down with some rockabilly and proving he can wail just as well as he can be sweet and mellow. The closing track, “Sweet Olive Tree,” shows us yet another style, that of the Gothic Appalachian folk tale recounting a crime of passion. With a new full-length album in the works, Engine EP is a nice teaser and definitely gives listeners something to look forward to in the coming months.

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