Artist: Nicole Atkins
Album:Neptune City

Official Site

When Nicole Atkins needed a title for her latest album she looked no farther than her own hometown. Neptune City is the latest offering from this up and coming New Jersey chanteuse and it"s as much the theme of the record as the title.

It may seem more desirable to withdraw into the crowd and contemplate the life that could have been, but Atkins has a much slicker and more furtive approach than that. Melancholy evocations culled from memories of bad boyfriends and dive apartments are fused with romantic notions with stunning alacrity. She even manages to avoid the predictable wallowing by meshing the pathos with smatterings of hope and redemption.

What’s most interesting about Neptune City is that once she figured out how to get out of dodge, she seemed to miss the capability to do just that. “I'm sitting over Neptune City /
I used to love it / It used to be pretty” she sings on the title track amongst the slow, casual parade of strings and guitars that recalls Twin Peaks when it's twisted sinister/sweet vibe used to be cool.

Not merely content with modern pop sensibilities, Atkins probes the lyrical crevices and musical depths of longing that built the legacies of Peggy Lee and Roy Orbison . Her smoky voice serves her best on "The Way It Is", where her see-sawing melody provokes thoughts of a long lost Patsy Cline song.

"Brooklyn’s On Fire!" revels in the spirit of her new hometown and is the catchiest of her cabaret offerings, complete with a high school cheerleading squad exclamation (“FOURTH OF! JULY! BROOKLYN'S! ON FIRE!”).

"Kill The Headlights" shows she’s willing to rock out a bit more, while her dedicated band, The Sea, backs up her stunning alto with convincing fortitude.

She doesn’t just write soundtracks to David Lynch dream sequences, she practically decorates the set against a swell of strings courtesy of Tore Johansson’s production. All the superfluous swank Johansson adds might sound amiss against Atkins’ modest yearnings, but it doesn’t change a thing because Atkins is just as content playing to the cheap seats.

Nicole Atkins may not be sure if she had stayed or left Neptune City, but the depth of emotion and longing she displays on this record will make you glad, that at least, her heart is still there.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."