Nicole Atkins

The latest album from Nicole Atkins, Italian Ice, was recorded in the greatly respected Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and features members of the Bad Seeds, Dap-Kings, the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and more. Genre-hopping is a feature on this album and its influences range from soul to Roy Orbison. Speaking of soul, Nicole Atkins’ voice is full of it. That is the immediate feeling that hits you as you dive headfirst into the sweeping landscape of the first track on this musically moving album. AM Gold has all the throaty soulfulness of an Aretha Franklin track with the atmospheric beachcomber feel of a Morcheeba album. Nicole describes Italian Ice as “an acid trip through my record collection” and she couldn’t be more right. This is the sound of the perfect summer spent on beautiful deserted beaches with the waves lapping at your toes and the sun caressing your skin. This album is just divine and listening to Nicole’s voice is like diving into cool, clear sound waves.

If Nicole Atkins has proven anything, it’s that this Jersey-born singer-songwriter is crazy consistent. Since her 2007 debut, Neptune City, Atkins has delivered some of the most alluring pop music of the last decade. Her latest release, Slow Phaser, follows suit as Atkins continues crooning through wry cuts about pretentious boyfriends, hipsters and life on the road. Recorded in Sweden with producer Tore Johansson (The Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand), Slow Phaser is a fitting companion to Atkins’s other work, and a welcomed next step from an artist riding high on her musical journey.

A Very Cool Christmas is a wonderful collection of all what Christmas has to offer, from the brilliant harmonies of The Temptations and the folk-rock of Leon Russell to the Beatpop of The Kinks and the soul voice from Marvin Gaye. This versatile record consists of both well-known Christmas songs performed by other artists than the famous versions and originals from the '50s until the present. Includes rockin' and groovin' Xmas songs from Billy Squier, Wizzard, Bryan Adams, The Kinks, Nicole Atkins, The Jackson 5, Carla Thomas, Louis Armstrong, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, B.B. King, The Temptations, Booker T & The MG's, and many more.