Langhorne Slim, The Dreamin' Kind

Leave it to Langhorne Slim — a pioneer of raw, rule-breaking Americana for more than two decades — to reach far beyond the genre he helped inspire.

The Dreamin' Kind, his ninth studio album, finds the Nashville transplant strapping on an electric guitar and embracing his longtime love of larger-than-life rock & roll. With its chugging power chords, 1970s-sized riffs, and richly layered arrangements, The Dreamin' Kind is fueled not only by sheer amplification, but by the soul-baring songwriting that's become Slim's calling card, too. Tucked between those anthems are acoustic-driven songs that skirt the outer orbits of folk music, from the bare-boned heartbreak of "Stealin' Time" to the organic, orchestral sweep of "Dance On Thru." The result is the more explorative and expansive album of Slim's career: a record made for rock clubs, campfires, and garages alike, produced by Greta Van Fleet's Sam Kiszka, and anchored by a lifelong desire to break down new walls.

"It felt like I was blowing some old shit up so I could plant some new flowers," Slim says of the creation process. "I love acoustic music. I love folk music. But those aren't my only loves. Rock & roll has always tickled the same place in my soul as great singer-songwriter music, and I wanted to explore those influences. Raw songs that make you feel something: that's the stuff I'm after."

Slim was touring behind 2021's critically-acclaimed Strawberry Mansion — his debut on the Billboard 200 chart, stacked with songs inspired by his life-changing decision to get sober from prescription pills — when he found himself opening for Greta Van Fleet in Connecticut. The Grammy-winning rockers were fans of Slim's music long before he hit the stage as their opening act. "I remember hearing Lost at Last, Volume 1 for the first time, and it absolutely resonated with me," says bassist Sam Kiszka. "He has the conviction of 100 singers. He puts his entire body and soul into it. I listen to 'The Way We Move' and I think, 'That's a rock & roll song, right there.' Rock & roll isn't a sound, necessarily. It's an energy, and he's got it."

Back in Nashville, Slim began visiting Kiszka's house for a series of loose songwriting sessions. Greta Van Fleet's drummer, Danny Wagner, joined them, adding swagger and stomp to the guitar riffs that Slim brought to the table. From the very first note, things felt different. "When I'm at home, I'm usually playing acoustic guitar on the couch, and I don't have much opportunity to plug in and rock out," Slim explains. "Working with Sam and Danny gave me a chance to get loud. I'd introduce a riff and we'd all start playing, and it was fucking beautiful. It reminded me of when I was real young, and I'd go to New Jersey and watch my cousin rehearse with his garage-punk band in his basement."

Songs began to take shape: "Rock N Roll," with its propulsive pulse and ecstatic, electrifying hooks; "Haunted Man," a hard-rocking juggernaut with a dreamy, harmony-drenched B section; "Dream Come True," whose raw tangle of acoustic instruments gives way to a gorgeous, swelling crescendo; and "On Fire," whose studio recording kicks off with a voice message from Slim's grandmother before making room for Motown influences and soulful strut. This was new territory for Slim. For years, he'd been the ringleader of his own roots-music circus. Now, he was a collaborator, making a louder sound with different partners. "It was such a natural, happy place for me," he recalls. "I don't do many projects with other people, but Sam and I see eye-to-eye. We were buddies, hanging out and creating something new together. That's where you get the most real shit."

The Dreamin' Kind was recorded over the course of a year. Langhorne took his time, scheduling the tracking sessions between his commitments as a touring musician, a family man (whose blended household includes his wife, his stepdaughter, and a young son), and an advocate in his recovery community. He also embraced the overdubbing process, working with Kiszka to create towering, thickly-stacked rock & roll epics full of vintage keyboards, harmonies, grooves, and full-throttle guitar fretwork. The folk songs received their own share of overdubs, too, with layers of fiddle, banjo, and organ being added to Slim's acoustic guitar. "For a long time, I thought that production always meant over-production, and too much production was always a bad thing," he admits. "There's an art to production that I've never truly danced with, though, and we did much more of that with this record. We built up the songs, even the folkier ones. Normally, I'd book a studio for ten days and we'd try to knock out an entire album during that time, working as quickly as possible. This wasn't like that. We didn't have time constraints. We didn't give ourselves any constraints, and I love the results."

Those results speak for themselves. There's nothing in Langhorne Slim's catalog like "Strange Companion," whose combination of overdriven guitar fuzz and wild, amplified abandon nods to influences like T Rex and Iggy Pop. There's nothing like "Loyalty," a scuzzy anthem for dive bars and garages, driven forward by handclaps and a rock & roll progression straight out of the late-1960s. At the same time, The Dreamin' Kind makes room for slower songs and folkier textures, too, building a bridge between Slim's past and present. He compares the variety to a mixtape — "the cassettes we all used to make for our girlfriends, where every song was exciting but also different than anything else on the tape," he clarifies — while Kiszka references the genre-bending artists who came before them.

"I love albums like All Things Must Pass, because the songs sound completely different, with their own production styles," Kiszka says, nodding to George Harrison's classic release. "A lot of people make records that sound uniform and cohesive, but Sean likes to move around a bit. How often can you listen to an album filled with nothing but loud guitars? You have to bring it down once in awhile. You have to remind listeners of Sean's superpower, which is him and an acoustic guitar. We enjoyed jumping from one style to another. I just hope the listener doesn't get whiplash. Be safe when you listen to this thing!"

For Langhorne Slim, though, there's no safety in repeating the steps he's already taken. He'd rather head in a different direction, chasing down unexpected horizons, showcasing a musicality that continues to evolve and expand with every step. Other artists might feel tempted to replicate the sound of, say, The Way We Move — a career-changing record praised by Rolling Stone as "damn near perfect" — but where's the imagination there? Where's the discovery? Slim has always been a dreamer, after all… and here, he's dreaming up something new

​​​​​​

AMELIA DAY

It took a world-shaking breakup for Amelia Day to find her true sound — and herself. 

"I knew you then, before all of this…but you left me for your ego trip," she sings to her ex-girlfriend on "Ego Trip," the title track from her newest EP. Stacked high with alt-rock guitars, pop hooks, and swooning keyboards, the song is more than a genre-bending kiss-off to a no-good lover; it's also a reminder that true artists remember where they came from, honoring their roots instead of chasing after trends. 

For Amelia, those roots began growing in her childhood home of Sumner, Washington. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, she leaned into the music of her parents' CD collection — from folk icons like Simon & Garfunkel to rock pioneers like Queen and Creedence Clearwater Revival — before falling in love with the empowered, electrifying frontwomen of the 1990s. Songwriters like Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow would eventually inspire the gritty, rock-influenced textures on EGO TRIP, but not before a cross-country move took Amelia to Nashville. There, she did more than strengthen her storytelling skills by earning a college degree in English; she discovered a new world of house shows and open mic nights, too. Those performances were formative experiences, showcasing Amelia's ability to blend her chops as a wordsmith with her decades-spanning range of influences.  

"I'd grown up listening to different kinds of music, so it felt natural to lean into all of those sounds once I started playing shows," she remembers. Whenever aspiring managers or booking agents came calling, they'd often push her to narrow her approach by choosing a single genre. Amelia refused, building a national audience on her own terms with diverse tracks like the soulful, jazz-influenced “Skippin' Down the Sidewalk" and the indie folksong "Eastward of Eden."  

"If you're writing material that feels very true and personal, you'll develop a sound that's signature to you, regardless of genre," she says, speaking with a perspective that belies her 23 years. "And it's affirming to hear that people like that material, because it means they like your music, not just a style." 

Before long, Amelia's schedule of open-mic gigs had given way to something bigger: sold-out shows that stretched from Seattle to Boston, as well as high-profile slots at Bumbershoot, Capitol Hill Block Party, Folklife Festival, and Seattle PrideFest. For an artist who'd battled stage fright until her college years, never envisioning herself playing to large crowds, this felt like life-changing progress. Amelia's life changed once again after graduation, when a 2,500-mile road trip with her longtime partner ended in a sudden, heartbreaking split. The separation was jarring, and in its aftermath, she found comfort in her favorite '90s rock records. Amelia began writing new songs inspired by that timeless music, creating a soundtrack for her long journey from heartbreak to healing.

"That breakup changed my perspective on the world," she admits. "It took away some of my naïveté and helped me settle into who I really am as an artist. When I started making new music, it felt more adult, more rock-based, and more tied to the strong, powerful, wise women who've always said what they wanted to, without holding their tongues." 

That outspoken freedom springs to life on EGO TRIP. Amelia co-produced the album with Taylor Carroll, handling much of the album's instrumentation — including guitar, piano, keys, and auxiliary percussion — herself. To capture the album's mix of mood, muscle, and melody, she headed back home to Washington State, where she set up camp at Bear Creek Studio. Songs like the countrified "Margie" nod to the studio's woodsy setting, but EGO TRIP is a record that creates its own geography, from the Laurel Canyon-worthy folk-rock of "Lady Los Angeles" to the raw attitude that fuels "GET OUT OF TOWN!" Amelia hasn't abandoned the diversity that's always permeated her catalog, but she's more focused this time around. As a result, EGO TRIP doesn't sound like anyone else; it just sounds like Amelia.

"Usually, I'll use a lot of metaphors in my songs," she says. "But songs like 'EGO TRIP,' 'LOVE ME / LOVE ME NOT,' and 'GET OUT OF TOWN!' are very direct and very angry, which is why they're capitalized. They're grounded in the way I personally feel."

Other tracks dig into her longtime roots as a storyteller. With "Margie," Amelia flips tradition on its head, turning an all-too-common country storyline into something novel. "It's the very simple trope of a man who's head over heels for a wild woman, but approached from a queer perspective," she explains. "Lady Los Angeles" is a personified tale of infidelity and seduction, inspired by those who choose fame and attention over meaningful connections. "False Prophet" even gets Biblical, with religious imagery weaving its way through a song about fame, power, grief, acceptance, and — ultimately — a new path forward. 

That path has led to a place of self-actualization and purposeful, proud musical identity. Amelia has never sounded more like herself, and she's never exhibited the full range of her abilities this clearly before. EGO TRIP — whose name references not only the fateful road trip that ended in heartbreak, but also her ex's self-image and her own reflections on fame and celebrity worship —  reintroduces its creator as a sharp-eyed songwriter, singer, co-producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She's breathing new life into the classic sounds that first inspired her to pick up an instrument at 5 years old, bringing the gap between past and present. For Amelia Day, the trip continues.