Nicole Atkins performs in The Current studios
by Barb Abney and Nicole Atkins
March 02, 2011
Singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins has gone through a lot of life changes in the last couple of years, and they're all laid bare on her new album, "Mondo Amore."
Like so many indie albums, "Mondo Amore" is filled with heartbreak-inspired lyrics, and Atkins indeed recorded the album during a period of emotional turmoil following the end of a long-term relationship. But other major shifts were afoot in Atkins' life and career during the recording of the album. Her longtime backing band, the Sea, disintegrated during the album's recording sessions, leaving her to assemble a new ensemble (which she calls the Black Sea) out of various Brooklyn-area musicians who helped out with the sessions. She also severed ties with her onetime record lable, Columbia, eventually releasing "Mondo Amore" on Razor & Tie after a lengthy delay.
"Mondo Amore" shifts Atkins' sound, too. Where her earlier work, like her 2007 full-length debut "Neptune City," drew upon '50s-style Brill Building pop and the darker end of country, her new one augments those influences with healthy doses of blues and psychedelia.
Nicole Atkins returned to The Current studios to play a few songs.
