L ifestyle /C ulture
Langhorne Slim’s New Album Inspired By
Singer’s Jewish Grandparents
M USIC
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
ANYONE WILL TELL YOU
that 2020 was a tough year, but
Langhorne Slim’s 2019 was no
picnic, either.

The Jewish singer-songwriter
was unable to make music due
to his struggles with clinical
anxiety disorder and prescrip-
tion drug abuse. Slim battled
and beat addiction in the form of
drinking years ago, but couldn’t
shake the need to escape feelings
of anxiety and depression.

“That’s my experience since
I was a kid in Becky Horowitz’s
parents’ basement in Villanova,
when I drank a six-pack of
Yuengling and I knew that it
was going to be a long road
Philadelphia neighborhood
where both sets of his Jewish
grandparents grew up. As a child,
Slim visited them regularly,
and they provided him and his
brother with love and support
when his parents separated. He
idolized his grandfathers, Jack
Scolnick and Sid Cohen, and
meditated on their lives as he
wrote the new songs.

“They were incredibly sweet,
loving, kind, generous and also
badass and tough. I don’t mean
tough like violent, but tough
like you have to be because
this world ain’t easy, as we all
know,” he said.

Slim, 40, was raised Jewish,
attended Hebrew school and
became a Bar Mitzvah, but
struggled to connect with the
religion through rote memori-
When I drank a six-pack of Yuengling ... I
knew that it was going to be a long road of
drinking.” Langhorne Slim
Strawberry Mansion album cover
Courtesy of All Eyes Media
LANGHORNE SLIM
of drinking,” said Slim, who
was born Sean Scolnick in
Langhorne. He knew he would
have a similar experience when
he started using drugs, and
addiction felt inevitable.

A friend intervened and
urged him to seek help, so he
checked into a program in
December 2019.

A few months later, a
tornado swept through his
neighborhood in Nashville.

A few weeks after that, the
pandemic hit in full force and
led to widespread shutdowns.

In quarantine, Slim used
the newfound sense of quiet
and his recent healing experi-
ences in therapy to write a song
a day at the suggestion of a
close friend. Three months and
many songs later, he had the
22 tracks that form his new
album, “Strawberry Mansion.”
The album is named for the
24 FEBRUARY 18, 2021
zation and recital. He felt more
connected to Judaism through
family, traditions and music.

He calls his grandfathers
“Jewish Buddhas” for the wisdom
and guidance they provided him,
teaching him to treat everyone
with respect and value people
from all walks of life.

“I do think of them as men
that had deep, deep wisdom,
and an intelligence that goes
far beyond an academic one.

I don’t know that either one
graduated high school and, like
a lot of people from that genera-
tion, they just had street smarts.

But they mixed that with a huge
heart and taught us to be cool
and kind to our fellow brother
and sister,” he said.

It was a powerful message
to teach a child, he added, and
one he has come to appreciate
even more as society becomes
increasingly fractured and tribal.

His family continues to be
a strong source of support.

During the pandemic, he
has traveled to Pennsylvania
to visit his mother, Robin
Scolnick, and his surviving
grandmother, Ruth Cohen.

In his song “The Mansion,”
Slim mentions his grandparents
by name in a tribute to his family,
their neighborhood and their
love of music. In “Red Bird,”
he shares one of Jack Scolnick’s
favorite parables, which involves
a lot of horse excrement.

The other songs on the
album, like Slim’s grandparents,
are a mix of tough and sweet.

Although many address dark
topics, the music itself is consis-
tently lighthearted, even playful.

Tracks like ”Mighty Soul” and
“Alright to Hide” explore finding
the strength and hope to face
the fear and uncertainty of the
current era. “Panic Attack” is a
JEWISH EXPONENT
catchy, toe-tapping account of
Slim’s experience with mental
health issues.

He said he turned inward to
find a sense of optimism when
faced with pain and suffering.

“It’s what we do with the
suffering and the pain, and
how we figure out a way to
have a lighter step, perhaps, to
be more graceful, to be more
kind to ourselves,” he said.

“And for me, getting started
to get myself healthy again,
which happened right before
the tornado in Nashville and
right before the pandemic, I
was able to start to recognize
myself more.” l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
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