I’ll admit that I was intrigued when Langhorne Slim’s self-titled debut landed on my desk last week primarily because Malachi DiLorenzo, a schoolmate from my hometown, produced and plays drums on the record. Add to that the instant ambiguity about the artist (Is it a man? Is it a band?) and rumblings about mature, dirty, country-tinged rock with a stellar backing band, and Langhorne Slim went straight to the top of my pile.

Turns out ‘Langhorne Slim’ is the adopted moniker of one Sean Scolnick, a 27-year-old lifelong musician from - yep - Langhorne, PA. After cutting his teeth touring with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Slim assembled his band, The War Eagles, and put out an EP on V2 before that label folded. Fast forward through a new contract with hot shit indie Kemado Records to the recording and release of this first full-length and you have 13 incredibly smart, well written and well played songs that chronicle the perilous bridge to adulthood that we call “the mid-twenties.” Slim’s often ragged vocals are endearing and authentic, reminding the listener of just how confusing it is to navigate the waters of love, life’s purpose, friendships, spirituality, and personal relationships…when you’re not quite all grown up. Oh yeah, and he does it all with a band that sounds as devoted to the roots of rocknroll as the another young band called the Rolling Stones did some forty years ago.

Standouts are the rollicking “Rebel Side of Heaven,” which explores the possibility that heaven and hell are the different sides of the same place over a bouncing blues-rock melody, and the dichotomized “She’s Gone,” which pairs a howling but totally hum-worthy lament of lost love over and upbeat, frantic rocker. The touching, sweet piano melody and softly delivered lyrics of “Worries” show that the kid isn’t afraid to explore the kinds of insecurities that spring up on both sides of a new relationship, and the lovely refrain of losing yourself in another person is the backbone of the pop-perfect “Colette.”

Bottom line: give Langhorne Slim a spin - you’ll find a charged, tight, bluesy folk-rock record on the surface, but underneath lies a poignant, thoughtful, lasting work from an artist with a lifetime of material buried in his young chest.

MP3: Langhorne Slim - She’s Gone

MP3: Langhorne Slim - Colette

Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles play Schubas in Chicago on May 28 with The Builders & The Butchers

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