David Nance – “When The Covers Come Off”

I definitely felt the heft of Nance’s Peaced and Slightly Pulverized when it landed couple of years back. The album thickened Nance’s stew to a stiff porridge and then lit the whole pot on fire. It seemed like the next move could only come in the form of another torched trip to the studio, but Nance isn’t one to live by expectations. That Third Man follow-up single might have given us all an inkling, but hell that’s a one-off, right? What was next? With the first cut from his upcoming Staunch Honey he answers the question neatly — a slide into the country sweat that shines under the Omaha sun and a return of sorts to his loose-laced countenance. Though, while it’s a rekindling of the scrap that sutured his early albums — playing into the hip-strung blues with a Teac crunch on ‘em — he’s still brought a touch of the toughness with him from Peaced. The pace is reclined but there’s power in those amp-fried licks. The thunder has passed and now its time to get people out and movin’. “When The Covers Come Off” requires volume to vibe, so don’t keep this one under the headphones long. Staunch Honey is out November 13th on Trouble In Mind.