Lanco Get Bird’s-Eye View on the Road Not Taken With ‘Near Mrs.’

Lanco‘s latest release, “Near Mrs.,” is a rock-inflected look back at the love interests who were almost — but not quite — the one.

Though those relationships ultimately ended in heartbreak, it’s not a sad song. On the contrary, the narrator offers gratitude for the lessons learned from each one, and traces how each “Near Mrs.” in his life led him to the woman he ultimately married.

That’s a particularly poignant message for the Lanco bandmates, who spent the COVID-19 pandemic focused on family life in the absence of their usual touring schedule. Lead vocalist Brandon Lancaster and his wife Tiffany welcomed their first child — a daughter named Elora — in September; two more bandmates, bassist Chandler Baldwin and drummer Tripp Howell, are expecting babies in May.

In an interview with American Songwriter, Lancaster says that becoming a parent deeply impacted his perspective, both as a person and as a songwriter. “All of a sudden, you are looking at this baby you created, and you realize all the things that led to this moment,” he reflects.

“Life and relationships are suddenly bigger than just the two of you,” Lancaster adds. “You are a family, and in turn, you start looking through that lens.”

Lancaster penned “Near Mrs.” with Shane McAnally and Jeremy Spillman, and the singer says they wrote it as a zoomed-out perspective on how every twist and turn in life leads you to where you are today.

“It’s about your near misses. It’s looking back on your life and thinking about what you could have had, and being totally okay that you don’t,” he explains. “It’s about realizing what could have been, but how glad you are that things turned out exactly the way they did.”

Lanco first rose to fame in 2017, winning over fans with sweeping country-rock love anthems including “Greatest Love Story” and “Born to Love You.” Their full-length debut, Hallelujah Nights, dropped in 2018.