ROB NANCE

Lost Souls and Locked Doors

robnance.com

The title sounds defeatist, and most of the songs center on heartbreak and disappointment, but this North Carolina country-folk crooner is an optimist at his core. Titles like “Light in the Dark” and “Ain’t Losing Yet” tell the story, and if Nance knows he can’t whip the world into spinning his way, he’ll kill fate with kindness. Even when he’s plugged in and rocking, as on the Band-like organ jam “Good Day to Swim,” he’s a delicate craftsman, not a brash basher. “That old sun’s gonna shine on me some day,” he sings at one point. “I just hope it’s not shining in my eyes.” Worse comes to worse, he’ll get some Ray-Bans.