He tried, but Paul Skinner "just isn't pop-country."

The Edmond musician's 2006 debut, "Gettin' With It," was a great album, and has probably sold close to 10,000 copies, Skinner said. While writing, recording and promoting the 13-song release was a "great learning experience," it wasn't a sound or style he felt like sticking with. 

"I really fought the whole thing," he said. "It was just really produced. It sounds great, but it sounds like a Rascal Flatts record."

On Thursday, Skinner is officially back with something he feels like fully supporting. "Lost in Austin" rocks the dust of his interest in singer/songwriter storytelling, resonating with a grimier texture. 

He recorded the album at his home and a handful of other studios with his bandmates Carl Amburn, Kevin Webb and Brian Young, who also drums for popular power-poppers Fountains of Wayne.

The bridge on one particular song, "These Days," was a struggle, Skinner said, and needed specific vocal harmonies to tie the song together. Gerry Beckley, a founder of one of Skinner's favorite bands, America, helped knot those loose ends by laying down 24 tracks of vocals. Skinner gets excited just talking about it.  

"I've got America on my record," he enthused. "Right there on track one."

Skinner will debut the new disc at 8 p.m. Thursday at the UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth in Edmond. The show is $10. For more information, visit www.paulskinnermusic.com. "Joe Wertz