January 29-February 4, 2004

musicpicks

The Fandanglers/ Langhorne Slim

country

Seems like most alt-country bands these days are either so sour they can't crack a smile, or so far into the checkered red of kitsch that they leave all aching musicality behind. In the hands of The Fandanglers, new country goes straight down the center. Brooklyn's sweetest, oddest cowpunks -- pedal steel guitarist Billy "the Villain" Villano, drummer "Chopsticks" Eddie Ocampo, the singing-guitar-slinging duo of "Pecos" Pete and Li'l Jess -- make sonorous country/bluegrass melodies that benefit from the ruckus of their first home, Coney Island. But Fandanglers' sweetly succulent, Texas-inspired licks, whether balefully balladeering or blasting hillbilly blues, have a genuine honky-tonk kick and a wide-eyed weariness learned from after-hours visits to Manhattan's Lone Star and Nathan's Famous. Langhorne Slim of Brooklyn -- a former Pennsylvanian in a porkpie hat -- has a similar feel for the genuine. Only his rusty lyrical insight, crusty voice and musty musical blight are concentrated on primal, messy acoustic blues. He's got a ragged, gut-bucketed sound and, like The Fandanglers, knows the benefits of the syrupy-sweet ballad.

Sat., Jan. 31, 10:30 p.m., $8, The Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770.

—A.D. Amorosi

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