The New Traditionalist

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT > FEATURES

Nicole Atkins' melodic, emotive music walks a fine line between modern and retro

By Joe Szczechowski

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Aug. 14, 2008

Singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins was born and raised in the Jersey shore town of Neptune City, about 75 miles north of here. So while Atlantic City technically can't claim the talented beauty as a hometown girl, Atkins says that growing up, Atlantic City was like a second home to her.

"I was there almost every weekend with my parents," she says in a recent telephone interview for Atlantic City Weekly. "My folks liked to gamble. So we went to Atlantic City to gamble and watch shows."

Atkins will return to her "second home" on Friday (Aug. 15) when she performs with her band, the Sea, in the Club Harlem Ballroom at the House of Blues at Showboat.

Atkins has been riding a wave of positive press and publicity since the release of Neptune City, her full-length major label debut album, last October. Neptune City received positive reviews in publications like Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and Spin, and Atkins was named one of the "Top 10 Artists to Watch" by Rolling Stone.

Atkins garnered additional national attention on the late-night TV circuit, performing on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Atkins & the Sea were also featured (playing themselves) in a television commercial for American Express as part of its "Are You A Cardmember?" campaign.

Atkins' music sets introspective lyrics to Brill Building-style pop fused with lush, atmospheric layers. Atkins calls her cinematic songs "pop-noir."

"It took me a long time to find my sound," the 29-year-old singer says. "When I first started writing songs, they were kind of country-ish. I was into that [sound], but I was also really into '68 garage rock and psychedelic music. I could never figure out how to put together all the sounds I wanted into one. After many years of trial and error, it finally happened."

Atkins sings in a traditional, melodic, retro style that may have been at least partly inspired by all the classic lounge singers she witnessed on weekends spent here in town. Her sense of drama was kindled by her love for theater.

"I did a lot of musical theater growing up," Atkins says, "but I was always more drawn to singers like Roy Orbison, Scott Walker, or the Righteous Brothers -- people that sang in a really dramatic way.

"It's a shame people don't really sing with melody anymore," Atkins adds. "All of my songs are really emotional. They're stories. There might not be that many words to them, but it's just the way that they're sung, or the violin or piano lines underneath -- that tell the whole story."

Atkins says the years she spent playing to audiences of 15 people taught her how to work a crowd. Even when playing to large crowds, she says she tries to create an intimate, interactive atmosphere.

"That's what's most fun about what I do -- just being on stage and getting to live through all the experiences of the songs, interacting with the crowd, telling stories and jokes," she says. "It should almost be like me and the audience are at a party together and I'm the loudmouth in the room. I almost get more upset if one of my jokes bombs than if I flub a note on one of the songs."

After nearly two years on the road, Atkins says she's looking forward to returning to the studio to record her next album.

"I'm excited to see what these 30 [new] songs are going to turn into on a 14-song album," she says. "There are some that are similar in style to Neptune City. Then there are some that are almost like dirty blues songs, in a Black Keys or Jon Spencer Blues Explosion-type way. That's why I'm glad there are so many different styles and elements in my sound. We're kind of free to take it wherever we want."

The new album won't be out until sometime in 2009, but fans can look forward to a four-song EP of cover tunes Atkins & the Sea recorded between legs of the current tour. Plans are to have the EP available on iTunes (and possibly at shows) by the end of the month. It will feature songs by the Doors ("Crystal Ship"), the Mamas and the Papas ("Dream a Little Dream"), the Church ("Under the Milky Way"), and Nada Surf ("Inside of Love").

Page: 1 2 |Next