Neptune City (album)

Neptune City
Studio album by Nicole Atkins
Released	October 30, 2007 (2007-10-30)
Recorded	September, November 2006 Varispeed Studios, Kalgerup, Sweden Gula Studion, Malmö, Sweden
Genre	Folk Acoustic Rock
Label	Red Ink/Columbia
Producer	Tore Johansson
Nicole Atkins chronology
Neptune City (2007) Mondo Amore (2011)

Neptune City is an album by Nicole Atkins, released in the U.S. on October 30, 2007 by Columbia Records.^[1] As of December 2007, the album has reached No. 6 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Album title

Prior to the album's release, Atkins found herself at a bar her family frequented in Neptune City, New Jersey called Bilow's, thinking about what she would title her album. She pondered aloud naming the album Neptune City, almost as a counterbalance to Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., with encouragement from the bar's patrons. "And I figured Neptune City, too, it seems so ominous," she told the Village Voice. "It sounds like very, you know, aquatic and mysterious."^[2] Though several publications have suggested the album's title refers directly to her hometown, the real life Neptune City is a distinct municipality just to the east of Atkins' native Neptune, New Jersey.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(84%)[3]
Allmusic	[4]
BBC Music	(positive)[5]
The Cornell Daily Sun	(positive)[6]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)[7]
Music Emissions	[8]
The New Zealand Herald	[9]
PopMatters	[10]
Spin	(6/10)[11]
Under the Radar	(8.5/10)[12]

Neptune City was generally well-received by most music critics. Katherine Fulton of Allmusic noticed that "Atkins shows on this album that she has both the capability and potential" and praised the "lush arrangements on Neptune City, which [...] showcase the depth, range, and versatility of Atkins' alto voice, not to mention her songwriting prowess".^[4] Chris Jones of BBC Music wrote that Atkins "delivers glorious, over-the-top twang-drenched ballads that both romanticise her native New Jersey and yet still throw in a tough, dark heart of country noir" and described the album as "something akin to country, but also something weirdly post-modern", while praising its production and vocals.^[5] Susan Frances of AbsolutePunk wrote that "the whole album is tooled with melodic patterned frescos combining orchestral fields with pop/rock elements" and added that it "does justice to the real Neptune City".^[3] Mikael Wood from Entertainment Weekly described it as "heartbreak nearly at its finest — and most cosmopolitan"^[7] while Joanna Hunkin of The New Zealand Herald compared it to "an intricate oil painting" and called it "a collection of curiosities, revealing a new intrigue with every listen".^[9]

Michael Keefe of PopMatters found the album "big and dreamy", the arrangements "vibrant, lush, and propulsive", and stated that "the instrumentation will swoop in and carry you along for a 40-minute ride through timeless chamber pop", but also noted that "the primal force that drives Neptune City is the huge and charismatic voice of Nicole Atkins".^[10] Will Miller from Music Emissions noticed that Neptune City "deals with that love/hate relationship almost everybody has with their hometown" and wrote that "with varied and lush instrumentation of strings and piano, the musical backdrops are full and rich throughout" and generally praised Atkins' vocal abilities.^[8] Suzanne Baumgarten of The Cornell Daily Sun felt that Atkins "has a folk song quality that makes her otherwise pop-like style unique and truly enjoyable" and called the album "optimistic, yet utterly realistic"^[6], while Under the Radar called it "a superb yesteryear sounding album".^[12] The album also garnered positive reviews from independent entertainment website IndieLondon, which found it "well worth checking out"^[13], and Greek webzine Avopolis, which described it as "an elegy for love".^[14]

A fairly mixed review came from Stacey Anderson of Spin, who noticed that the artist "coolly distills the romanticism of '60s girl groups into dark, baleful country pop" but felt that "the songs swell and crest in identical structure, leaving her gorgeous voice [...] to battle the overproduction".^[11] Jenni Cole of MusicOMH gave an unfavorable review, saying that "this really is an album that's going nowhere".^[15]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Nicole Atkins, except where noted.

1. "Maybe Tonight" – 3:16
2. "Together We're Both Alone" – 4:18
3. "The Way It Is" – 3:36
4. "Cool Enough" – 5:25
5. "War Torn" – 3:58
6. "Love Surreal" (Atkins, Tore Johansson, Jens Lindgard, Martin Gjerstad) – 4:06
7. "Neptune City" – 3:53
8. "Brooklyn's on Fire!" – 3:51
9. "Kill the Headlights" – 3:19
10. "Party's Over" – 4:15

Personnel

• Sven Andersson – flute, saxophone
• Seth Avett – liner notes
• David Carlsson – engineer
• Daniel "Shaolun" Chen – electric piano, mellotron, vibraphone, reed organ
• Emil de Waal – vocals
• Mattias Gustavsson – vocals
• Dave Hollinghurst – guitar
• Tore Johansson – acoustic guitar, bass, producer, slide guitar, acoustic bass guitar, mixing
• Maria Køhnke – vocals
• Jens Lindgard – bass, guitar, trombone
• Peter Lindgard – percussion, trumpet, drums
• Vlado Meller – mastering
• Daniel Mintzer – drums
• Filip Runesson – violin, cello, viola
• Andrew Scheps – mixing
• Chris Spooner – art direction
• Andreas Stellan – vocals
• Ulf Turesson – vocals
• Jennifer Tzar – photography

References

1. ^ "Discogs". http://www.discogs.com/release/1144048. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 
2. ^ Trucks, Rob "Nicole Atkins & the Sea: Possibly 4th Street.", villagevoice.com, January 25, 2008. Accessed on January 30, 2008
3. ^ ^{a b} Frances, Susan (22 February 2008). "Atkins, Nicole - Neptune City". Buzz Media. http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=298735. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Fulton, Katherine (October 2007). "Neptune City Nicole Atkins". All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/neptune-city-r1084393/review. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Jones, Chris (06 June 2008). "Nicole Atkins Neptune City Review". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/vbrg. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Baumgarten, Suzanne (8 November 2007). "Record Review: Nicole Atkins". Cornell University. http://cornellsun.com/node/25984. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Wood, Mikael (26 October 2007). "Neptune City (2007) Nicole Atkins". Time Inc. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20154244,00.html. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Miller, Will (24 January 2008). "Nicole Atkins - Neptune City". Music Emissions. http://www.musicemissions.com/artists/albums/index.php?album_id=7583. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Hunkin, Joanna (5 June 2008). "Nicole Atkins - Neptune City". APN News & Media. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/music/news/article.cfm?c_id=264&objectid=10514591. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Keefe, Michael (27 November 2007). "Nicole Atkins: Neptune City". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/nicole-atkins-neptune-city/. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Anderson, Stacey (2008). "Nicole Atkins 'Neptune City'". Spin Media LLC. http://www.spin.com/reviews/nicole-atkins-neptune-city-columbia. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Neptune City Nicole Atkins". Under the Radar. 8 June 2008. http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/utr/review/CID/64/N/Neptune-City.utr. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
13. ^ Foley, Jack (8 June 2008). "Nicole Atkins - Neptune City". IndieLondon. http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/nicole-atkins-neptune-city. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
14. ^ Tziritas, Stylianos (8 June 2008). "Nicole Atkins Neptune City". Avopolis. http://www.avopolis.gr/reviews/default.asp?ID=4325. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
15. ^ Cole, Jenni (8 June 2008). "Nicole Atkins - Neptune City (Red Ink)". musicOMH. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/nicole-atkins_0608.htm. Retrieved 13 February 2011.