Wrapped in gold dust nostalgia, “Virginia Slim” dangles into the ear like a river of baked whooshes, not to be resisted. Kenny Sharp sews an aural quilt, weaving neo-soul, blues and acoustic folk into a harmonious embrace as rich and layered as Virginia’s multifaceted beauty. Sharp’s timbre carries like whispering pines and crashing waves, each note a pebble skipping across the pond of memory. His rhymes twirl with metaphors, turning tobacco leaves into crowns and mountains into quiet keepers. A lifelong nomad held in orbit by the pull of Virginia, Sharp reduces what home means to him into a sonic potion of emotion and longing.

Indeed, the song has a relatively relaxed but epic feel, a peaceful top layer that belies emotional undercurrents like a calm ocean hiding the wrecks. You get hooked on the way the genres blend so well on this musical chimera that soothes and challenges simultaneously. Sharp’s storytelling doesn’t so much paint pictures, as sculpt landscapes in the mind’s eye, as listeners traverse the hills and valleys of his beloved state. Melancholy riffs and nonchalant piano keys preserve a laid-back acoustic alchemy, leaving room for the vocal carving, which feels both timeless and avant-garde, to shine. In fact, “Virginia Slim” is a lodestar toward the heart, a poetic journey that recreates the act of finding your way back home. Each lyric unspools like a forbidden note, with echoes that hang well beyond the end of the song.

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