This is the fifth album by Nicole Atkins, who, just like Bruce Springsteen, the national icon to whom she paid tribute in 2014 with her successful cover of Dancing in the Dark (on Dead Man’s Town: A Tribute to Born in the USA., Lightning Rod Records), was also born in New Jersey. The singer continues in the same vein with a ‘60s soul sound, this time recording alongside Ben Tanner, a producer from the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. David Hood is on bass and Spooner Oldham on keyboards, both brilliant musicians from the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section which has featured on albums by Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge, to name but a few. The result is a timeless album which wouldn’t sound out of place if it were released about fifty years ago, with a light-hearted, nostalgic feel that is easy on the ears. The wonderful opening track, AM Gold, sounds like it’s straight out of a Tarantino film. The rest of the album has an Americana style, which, even if it’s on its way out, has a charm that never seems to fade. © Yan Ceh/Qobuz