ShareThis"LANGHORNE SLIM," Langhorne Slim (Kemado)On "Spinning Compass," the opening track of Langhorne Slim's new self-titled release, he offers the lines, "Don't wanna be a drag ... Don't wanna be sad" and "it's too bad you find fault with me."He finds fault with himself, too, but he embraces his flaws and runs with them.The 27-year-old singer/guitarist -- a/k/a Sean Scolnick, originally from Langhorne, Pa. -- is a big-hearted, hyperactive type who plows through the frenetic folk-rock of "Langhorne Slim" with the core support of Malachi DeLorenzo (drummer and producer), Sam Kassirer (keyboardist and producer) and Paul Defiglia (standup bass).The sound is raw, often distorted and sometimes so crazed (as on "Restless" and "She's Gone") that it emphasizes the imperfections in his too-edgy voice.What's more, "Langhorne Slim" peters out toward the end -- coincidentally starting with the track "The Honeymoon," in which he sings, "The honeymoon is over, I suppose." There's something earnestly pedestrian about Slim, too, as when he preaches to the choir that we've all just got to be happy on "Diamonds and Gold" and when his unnerving voice creates unnecessary tension on "Hello Sunshine" as he offers such platitudes as, "I feel all right by your side."Still, Langhorne Slim transcends his flaws with genuine charisma, emanating soul in "Sometimes."By the time he settles his trembling voice into the acoustic-guitar framework of closer "Hummingbird" and sings, "I'm dreaming of leaving my demons/And the first one I'm leaving is you," listeners will be hoping the energetic guy isn't talking about them.Rating (five possible): 3-1/2"KENSINGTON HEIGHTS," Constantines (Arts & Crafts)There's an informality to the Constantines' earthy "Kensington Heights" that intrigues and compels.Throaty vocalist Bryan Webb, who sounds like a roughed-up Bruce Springsteen, leads the Ontario band down a road of angst and distortion. The air is thick with restless, yet indistinct, dissatisfaction, amplified by spontaneous-feeling high-voltage rock accented with shades of blues and offbeat rhythms.The Constantines' vocals, which occasionally feature guitarist Steve Lambke as well as Webb, are the focal point, whether they're stubbly against the careening neo-grunge of "Hard Feelings" ("Some people's love isn't strong enough"), erupting in the menacing flutter of "Trans Canada" or disarmingly accessible in the calm intimacy of "New King." The downside to the vocal dominance comes when they're affected and don't ring as true as they ought to, as on "Time Can Be Overcome" ("Yesterday will break your heart/Tomorrow kill you dead").The band is also handicapped by casual arrangements that seem to reflect a lack of investment on the part of the group, tracks such as the stuck-in-neutral "Our Age," the bland (though nicely titled) "I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song" and the half-baked and spacey "Life or Death."Yet it's easy to overlook the Constantines' fleeting focus, because when their bracing, three-guitar fury brings down the house on "Shower of Stones," when their heart-racing rhythm paces "Credit River" and when their erratic thrashing punctuates the simmering starkness of "Million Star Hotel," there's no question this group is pounding out distinction.Rating: 3-1/2"A TOWN AND TWO CITIES," Your Vegas (Universal Republic)Music fans who fall for Your Vegas could develop an attachment akin to those in committed, uncomplicated relationships.The New York-based band spawned from a suburb of Leeds, U.K., unapologetically hammers out one type of song repeatedly on its new "A Town and Two Cities," and generally does it well.A descendent of Coldplay and U2, Your Vegas refines its melancholy edge, crafting one anthem after another by anchoring a melodic chorus -- plaintively sung by Coyle Girelli -- in a maelstrom of wailing guitars and driving rhythms. The lyrics don't have much depth, what with Girelli merely drawing out the line "We live in troubled times" for the chorus of "Troubled Times" and going no deeper than "It makes my heart break to see your state of mind" on "It Makes My Heart Break," but the hooks have a wallop thanks to his deft use of emotion and range, particularly his higher end.The grandiose, pretty refrains are supported by a shimmering, full sound, resulting in such a soaring mix that it doesn't much matter that so many tracks are strikingly similar, including "Aurora," "In My Head," "It Makes My Heart Break" and "Troubled Times." A couple of tracks -- "Birds of Paradise" and "Until the Lights Go Out" -- fall victim to clunky arrangements, but they, too, conform to the Your Vegas shtick.The group even has a formulaic way to break up the formula, employing two slow tracks, "The Way the War Was Won" in the middle of the release and "Salvadore" at the end.Yet despite the sheer predictability of Your Vegas on "A Town and Two Cities," it works.Rating: 3-1/2(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)
Langhorne Slim's new album sounds raw, distorted
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