Old Things New

Old Things New is the sound of a singer who has come to know exactly who he is--and what he does best. "I feel like I'm in a really cool position," Nichols says. "I've found my place by moving deeper into the kind of music I love, which are songs that draw on the traditional side. A lot of country music at the moment is real aggressive and hard. I love that music, but it's not what I do. I've found my niche by doing something outside of what everyone else is doing."

What Nichols does is zero in on his strengths: He gives weight to the heart-stirring message of "Believers" and fills the title song, about timeless and enduring qualities, and the unforgettable "An Old Friend of Mine," about a man giving up the bottle, with the genuine emotion of a man singing about what he knows. Elsewhere, Nichols shows his wide range, from the swing-with-a-smile "Cheaper Than a Shrink" to the jazzy, romantic "This Bed's Too Big," and from the modern upbeat rhythm of "Give Me That Girl" to the lonesome blues of "It's Me I'm Worried About."