Photo Credit: Dan Crane

“[‘Mock the Hours’], a scraggly country-rocker of the highest order, isn’t some lost ’70s radio-rock classic, but it sounds as if it could be, and that’s a great thing.” — Stereogum

Today, the Omaha-based musician David Nance & Mowed Sound share a new single and video, “Tumbleweed,” off their self-titled record, out February 9th on Third Man Records. Written in less than five minutes in a car ride on the Fourth of July, 2021, (though time seems irrelevant to this song), Nance says that “this was an effortless tune to record. Everything fell into place quite easy. Pearl [LoveJoy Boyd] steals the show with her beautiful harmonies. Skye’s flute is lovely. If you listen closely, you can hear Kevin’s over caffeinated hands skittering the brushes on the snare. Definitely my happy place on the record.” “Tumbleweed” sees Nance and Boyd singing in a melancholic harmony, creating a haunting and stunning duet. In addition to the video, Nance has announced a record release show on February 16th at Reverb Lounge in his hometown of Omaha. Tickets are on sale and are available here.

Led by Nance on vocals and guitar alongside Kevin Donahue on drums, James Schroeder on guitar, Derrick Higgins and Sam Lipsett on bass, alongside guest appearances from Megan Siebe, Skye Junginger, and Pearl LoveJoy Boyd, Nance brings together a crew of veteran Omaha musicians for a record that showcases Nance’s voracious appetite for anything that rocks, anything that soothes, and all the glorious static and disturbed transmissions in between. “The whole album is a big magic trick,” Nance says, “most of these songs were written as country songs and then were perverted into different forms…but it sure as shit isn’t a country record.”

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “TUMBLEWEED”

Nance grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, played in the marching band and discovered punk and garage rock before moving to Omaha and joining the mid-2000 garage punk scene happening there with the band the Forbidden Tigers. Several years spent in Los Angeles with his wife Anna led to a period of songwriting and home recording before they decided to move back to Omaha where he began finding his musical identity and started recording his songs with like-minded friends. What developed was a heavy burned-out rock vibe that still somehow fits in the punk universe.

Nance is also known for his lightning punk cover recordings of classic albums such as Lou Reed’s Berlin, Beatles for Sale and Devo’s Duty Now For the Future. For this series, Nance will choose a favorite album, learn the songs and record over the course of a week and release it on CDR or cassette on his own Western Records. Nance plans on continuing this project and would like to release 100 of these eccentric home spun and destroyed love letters to the greats.

Not content to mine one musical formula, Nance and company continue to explore new sounds and spaces. From the blistered punk blasts of More Than Enough to the introspective stance on Staunch Honey, Nance and his friends find inspiration from the friends and fellow musicians that have accompanied them on their journey. A fruitful one indeed.

DAVID NANCE TOUR DATES:

Fri. Feb. 16 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge (Record Release Show)

PRAISE FOR DAVID NANCE AND “MOCK THE HOURS”

“[David Nance & Mowed Sound] evokes late nights spent smoking cigarettes and spinning vinyl.” — UPROXX

“[‘Mock the Hours’] has Nance’s signature swagger, augmented with some nicely ragged fiddle.” — Brooklyn Vegan

“‘Mock the Hours’ is a pedal-to-the-metal, country-infused garage rock stunner that lights a fire underneath you and never lets up.” — Paste

“a throwback rock number that buzzes with the immediacy of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes era.” — Glide

“You could say the sounds made by David Nance over the past six years have continued the legacy laid down by Peter Laughner, Electric Eels, Royal Trux, and Sic Alps—jaw-snapping riff-rock and narcotic blurts of noise with a heavy love of The Stones, blemished punk, and the guitar solo on The Velvet Underground’s ‘Heard Her Call My Name.’” — FLOOD