Kevin Bronson on December 4th, 2008

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Robert Francis might write the songs of an old soul, but he is still just 21 — and maybe feeling it, when it comes to his next step musically. “Thing are kinda moving slower than I want them to,” he says.

It was back in August 2007 when his critically lauded debut, “One by One,” was released on local imprint Aeronaut Records, earning comparisons to the likes of Jeff Buckley, M. Ward and Conor Oberst. After assembling a live band and touring behind the album, he got to work on another. “I started a second record with the idea it would come out on Aeronaut too,” he says. “Then all these [bigger] labels got interested.”

It’s premature to talk about a signing, his management says, but while the business side Francis’ life is hashed out, he has been doing what songwriters do — writing even more material. “The new songs pick up where the the first album left off, but maybe they’re a little more to the point … lyrically, a little more vicious,” he says. “[Waiting] has actually been good because I’ve had so much time to listen to the new songs.”

||| Live: Francis, with all new songs “except two or three” in his setlist, headlines Spaceland on Friday night. He then opens for Missy Higgins for shows Dec. 15 in San Diego and Dec. 16 at the House of Blues Anaheim.

Refresher course — download “Little Girl” here (e-mail address required) … and here’s the video for that song: