Heart (Randm, 2013)

Any song that includes lines like, "Haggard poured out of the jukebox/Right about the time that you walked in," surely does any true country heart good. These words (from "Smokey Tavern") are sung by the gravelly-voiced Graham Nancarrow, who formed the group Nancarrow with Joseph Weisiger in 2011. "Heart" is Nancarrow's six-song EP, filled with straight ahead country goodness that would sound about as good as The Hag pouring out of any tavern jukebox.

Although the basic template for "Heart" is traditional country music, there's still much variety found within. One called "Party" mixes in a little Byrds-y electric guitar jangle, while "I'm Gone" swings western style. Lastly, the work's title track is highlighted by a little Jerry Lee Lewis great balls of fire rollicking rock piano.

On a track simply titled "Fun," one can hear both harmonica and plucking banjo in the mix. The chorus states, "There ain't nothing wrong with having some fun," and with such fun instrumentation, the musical backing strongly supports this song title's simple assertion.

Watching Luke Bryan singing what he calls country music to a disco beat on national TV might cause a country music loving soul to lose hope. But Nancarrow restores much of that hope with this heartfelt new effort.