Kevin Bronson on January 23rd, 2012

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From the minute Robert Francis – then barely out of his teens – released his debut album “One by One” in 2007, it was clear his was a voice fans of dusty-road Americana would want to heed for years. Or, in the case of recent developments, spend a couple of years waiting to hear again. Vanguard Records today announced it would release Francis’ third album, “Strangers in the First Place,” on May 22, ending a period of business limbo that saw the 24-year-old singer-songwriter (and brother of songstress Juliette Commagere) extricate himself from his contract with Atlantic Records. Francis’ 2009 album “Before Nightfall” (and particularly the single “Junebug”) earned him a big following in Europe, but, curiously, American audiences didn’t seem to get the memo. “Strangers” offers another batch of tragedies and triumphs narrated by a singer who sounds as if he’s lived longer than he has, with the album’s first single “Some Things Never Change” inspiring hope that quite the opposite is true.

||| Download: After the jump, use the widget to get an mp3 of “Some Things Never Change”:

||| Live: Robert Francis opens for Mat Kearney on Feb. 23 at the Music Box.