Song of the Day: Nicole Atkins “Sleepwalking”

Singer/songwriter Nicole Atkins’s “Sleepwalking” is an easy highlight from her new full-length album, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, on Single Lock Records, the Alabama label co-founded by the Civil Wars’ John Paul White. Goodnight Rhonda Lee was written in Nashville, Tennessee and recorded live to tape in just five days in Fort Worth, Texas (with a modern-day Wrecking Crew Niles City Sound, best known for their recent success with the classics-minded soul singer Leon Bridges). Finding inspiration in Dusty in Memphis-era Dusty Springfield, the mid-career country of Loretta Lynn the and country-pop productions of late-career Bobby Gentry, Nicole Atkins has turned out a mature, knowing work that gives her vocals center stage. The fourth full-length in her discography, Goodnight Rhonda Lee stands with the best of them.

The smoothly-delivered R&B-inflected pop sound of “Sleepwalking” is a personal favorite. With a Brill-Building melody that Amy Winehouse would have loved and perfectly complimented by some nicely-reverbed lead guitar, “Sleepwalking” displays that live-to-tape directness and the confidence of an artist at the top of her game.

Nicole Atkins takes the stage tonight at The Hamilton in downtown DC. I’m looking forward to a great show!