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Nicole Atkins performed in between O'death and Avett Brothers at the Bowery Ballroom Friday night. Here fascination with nostalgia was apparent the moment she walked on stage wearing an early 60s minimal dress with her hair perfectly coifed to match. Later, she mentioned that she and her band The Sea are going to start a slow metal band. The influences go on. She draws from everything from her time as child in Neptune City, New Jersey, as an art school kid in North Carolina, and as a solo performer at the Sidewalk Cafe, the epicenter of the anti-folk scene. She has drifted back and forth between all these places but still has strong family ties.

New Jersey was in the house Friday night and I imagine some younger Atkins siblings or cousins were too. They were yelling a lot and Nicole was happy to entertain their comments. The girl has pipes and a weight in her voice that is seeped in melancholy. Sometimes The Sea was too much of a backup band and remained in the background but on the stripped down songs the melodies stood out. Nicole has an EP coming out in early October called Bleed Diamonds. For now, check out the MP3s below.

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Skywriters (MP3)
Neptune City (MP3)