Send "Nicole Atkins " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 The magic of a great record sleeve should never be underestimated. Who could forget Prince astride his Purple dream machine, cockily posing for his disciples whilst the heaving chest of foxy Apollonia awaits in the wings? Or Iggy Pop grinning like he’s freshly lobotomised on the cover of Lust For Life? Or Gaga’s sneering visage drunkenly photoshopped onto the wings of a motorbike by the Office Junior? All covers that dared you to only imagine the mysterious mojo held within. The cover of Nicole Atkins’ Mondo Amore promises such supernatural secrets. A smoky-eyed Nicole, dressed to kill in a LBD, draped over a distracted older gent whose shirtless chest is inscribed with, amongst other mysteries, the legend “SENIOR”. This silver survivor looks like a cross between butch, bushy actor Sam Elliott and that malevolent maniac from Twin Peaks known only as “Bob”. Either way, he looks like he may’ve escaped a maximum security prison, so we probably shouldn’t ask too many questions. But when faced with such a wondrously iconic cover, there’s only one thing worth pondering anyway, “Oh Lord, let the music be as fine as that darn sleeve”. Mondo Amore does, mostly, live up to those great expectations promised by its cryptic packaging. On further investigation, it seems if it weren’t for bad luck, Atkins would’ve had no luck at all. Having severed ties with “The Man” (Columbia Records, who released Atkin’s début Neptune City), “Her Man” (one long-term relationship flatlined during its creation), and “The Gang” (backing band “The Sea” white-flagged on day one of Mondo’s recording), things seemed, well, cursed. Her loss is Mondo’s gain as, luckily for us, Atkins is both a fighter and a lover, and Amore is the sound of one soul frantically fighting for a knockout. Forty minutes of kicking, screaming, bawling, and occasionally begging. Rather selfishly, it’s a blast to listen to. What strikes most about Mondo Amore is the crafted songwriting. It’s classic American songbook. Carole King meets Loretta Lynn. Take the summery rock ‘n’ soul of “Cry Cry Cry”, which soothes like Lucinda Williams preaching Reverend Al Green. Melodic and timeless but with a sassy, stinging woman’s wit. Atkins has assembled a tight new crew and pushes each instrument high into each mix, giving a live, ragged, raucous feel to the album. These songs may be predominantly about love as battlefield, but the sharp, sincere lyrics save them from cliché or mawkishness. “My pain could learn to play the violin / But it might not bring you back”, sobs Atkins on the lonesome “Hotel Plaster”, elevating these closing time laments into something more memorable....full text |
| Culturebully |
| Nicole Atkins‘ Mondo Amore is the culmination of an immense change in the vocalist’s life; “Got a new band, wrote a new album, got a new apartment, new life, getting a new label, and yeah, basically changing everything,” she explained in an interview last year. Recording some 18 songs with her new band before eventually pairing Mondo Amore down to a trim 10 tracks, the album goes a long way to reflect this sense of chaos. A self-described collection of songs which reflects a myriad of influences and sounds, Mondo Amore appears to be the result of a renewed freedom to experiment with a variety of different styles. As with any great change however, the immediate question that plagues this new approach is one of doubt: Was the change for the better? If looking only at Atkins’ mammoth presence on the album’s opener, the answer would appear to be “undeniably so.” “Vultures” is haunting to its core. Opening to an eerie echo of strings and a menacing bass line, Atkins’ steamy hum begins to assume control of the song as she begins, “Careful where you walk/Remain in the light/Watch where death resides/Find you from all sides.” As the song’s booming chorus erupts so too does Atkins’ wail, “Take all they can get until you’re dirt and bones”; how such a booming sound resides in such a small frame is beyond me. Unfortunately, one of the key downsides of attempting to build an album on a foundation of variation is its likely tendency to sound inconsistent. After such a brooding contrast between dark and light in the album opener, the band follows with “Cry Cry Cry,” which is little more than pale, jam band funk. Not only does the track not rest comfortably amongst the rest of the album, but it simply doesn’t reflect Atkins’, nor the Black Sea’s, potential....full text |
| Pastemagazine |
| Three years after her debut album, Neptune City, Nicole Atkins returns with gripping ferocity on Mondo Amore. From the first track, “Vultures”, Atkins’ toe-tapping, foot-stomping, hip-swaying music moves through your bones. With years to perfect it, every note and beat seems crafted with intention and care, accentuating her equally deliberate words. The songs play like anthems, commanding you to sing along as her lyrics tell a long-awaited story. Through the process of making the album, she broke up with her boyfriend, her band and Columbia Records, choosing to produce it on her own and eventually releasing it on Razor & Tie. “It was like the ending of life as you know it,” she told Paste last month. “It’s funny because most of the songs are about those three things at the same time, so in a lot of breakup records you want to point fingers, but I don’t think that this record is like that at all.” Effortlessly blending rock, blues, country and soul, Atkins has delivered on Mondo Amore with a collection of songs that invites you into her world. Even the more somber songs are sung with a gritty earnestness that carries the energy of her more vibrant songs throughout the entire project....full text |
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