January « 2011 « Knox Road

[Hype Hype Hooray] The War of the Critics: “May the best bloggers win”

Every [two weeks?] Jamie Hale takes a long, hard look at the music industry and the blog scene that feeds it. Here, he releases those findings and makes snarky, sarcastic remarks. Admittedly, both Jamie and Knox Road are a part of this scene. So sue us. Right now we’re all fighting for […]

Lee

[MP3] Mansions on the Moon: “This Is How We Walk on the Moon” (Arthur Russell cover)

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day Ted Wendler (of Mansions on the Moon*) returned to my life, and it has finally happened. His newest recording, a cover of Arthur Russell‘s “This Is How We Walk on the Moon”, finds Wendler in tip-top form, with his unmistakable, breathtaking vocals. The acoustic guitar builds a […]

Jamie

Ducktails’ Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics is beautifully built, easy to miss

The cover of Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics sort of says it all. We see a nondescript building beside some body of water on what could be a warm summer evening. Everything reflects in the calm waters, a still and serene picture seen through a washed out, hazy filter. At first glance the photo […]

Jamie

Smith Westerns polish off their charm on Dye It Blonde

When Smith Westerns first jumped onto the scene two years ago, they were just a ragtag group of kids (all under 20 years old) making surprisingly mature Nuggets-era garage rock. The songs on their self-titled debut were full of spunk, energy and enough great hooks to make your head spin. Two years later, […]

Lee

Ghost Heart

Ghost Heart is anything but. Passion oozes from every pore of this Michigan quartet’s sound. Experimental yet FUN, these guys actually remind me a bit of Knox Road favorite, Hands. Tribal beats and full ranging vocals dominate these long songs. And by long, I mean like, nothing less than five minutes. But it’s […]

Jesse

The Decemberists escape to the country on The King Is Dead

When I fired up this new Decemberists album for the first time I was blown away by how much it sounded like Tom Petty. That’s right, Tom Petty. Specifically, Tom Petty’s hit “You Don’t Know How It Feels.” During the course of those first strange 15 seconds of “Don’t Carry It All,” the […]

Jamie

Tennis deliver the goods, show promise with Cape Dory

We all love the beach, don’t we? If you don’t, you can just go ahead and disregard this album completely and go on listening to your molten-earth heavy metal or whatever it is you listen to NOT at the beach. For the rest of you beach lovers, I have something special. A treat, […]

Lee

Little Anchor

We don’t post all that often on Saturdays or Sundays, because the weekend is a time for REST. (Side note: Jamie usually works on the weekend. HA. …Just kidding, I feel for you, Jamie. 🙁 ) But, there are those times when music overlaps quite nicely with rest and songs are well suited […]

Abby

[Abby’s Road] The Grass is Always Greener

Grüß Gott everyone. I’m as moved to Germany as one can be while waiting for every piece of furniture they own to arrive on a ship from America. Thought I’d take some of the spare time I have to spin you a little yarn – you know how I do. Munich […]

Tom

Interview with Nicole Atkins

Three years ago, I caught a particularly memorable episode of The Late Show with Conan O’Brien. Yes, Coco told some jokes and interviewed Hulk Hogan, but it was pop noir artist Nicole Atkins who caught my attention with her performance of “Maybe Tonight,” the lead track from 2007’s critically acclaimed major label debut, Neptune City. I had missed the hype in prior months; Neptune City was the catchy, lush, atmospheric gem I was looking for.

In a recent half hour phone interview with Atkins, I learned that she thought the Conan performance “sucked.” She seems much more pleased, however, with her band, Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea, and its heavily anticipated sophomore record, Mondo Amore. Atkins spoke to Knox Road about Mondo Amore, the recording process, b-sides, touring, and Twitter.

You can check out the lead track from Mondo Amore, “Vultures,” and b-side cover of experimental German rock group Can, “Vitamin C.” By the time you finish listening to these tracks, you might make it through this marathon interview.

Nicole Atkins – “Vultures” [MP3]
Nicole Atkins – “Vitamin C” [MP3]

With Mondo Amore coming out Feb. 8 and a tour starting next week (yes, it hits New York City AND Washington, D.C.), we naturally opened up our conversation on the topic of her “every show” dress, picked out with her guitarist Irina Yalkowsky.

Atkins: […]I just started wearing it. We just did a tour with The Black Keys and I think I wore it every single show. It required very little thought, although it was kind of hard to find places that do five-hour dry cleaning.

Knox Road: Oh I bet. I always wondered about that because you often see bands who like to wear suits and some are just casual, but I always thought you had a pretty cool fashion sense for your shows. It always fit the music in a way.

Atkins: I feel like if I ever wore jeans on stage, it wouldn’t feel like a show. When people go to work, they put their work clothes on, and when people get on stage and are going to entertain you, [they] put an entertainment outfit on.

Continue reading Interview with Nicole Atkins →