Nicole Atkins – Mind Eraser
Let’s start right at the beginning. Seem intuitive, I know, but many times the introduction of a song goes unnoticed. That is not the case with ‘Mind Eraser’. Before you ever even hear Nicole Atkins‘ distinctive and amazing vocal you are almost uncontrollably doing that back and forth head-bob thing.
A swift drum fill over the snare and toms intro’s a funky groove that hits the next level as you realize the slightly overdriven bass guitar has unknowingly grabbed your attention. It’s a menacing combination that deserves inclusion in a movie like ‘American Gangster’ or something.
Then.
Her voice. You want unique and full of unmistakable tone? This one’s for you. Nicole Atkins delivers a rare style of power but at the same time a subtle calmness. Seems like an odd combination but that’s exactly what it sounds like to me. Kind of like a voice in the dark trying to quietly call you but immediately grabs your attention.
Another little nuance that I like is that her verse vocal has an accompanying low register octave track that goes away during the last part of the word “again” at the end of each verse. Though a simple task, it comes off extremely dynamic for the listener.
As we navigate to the pre-chorus and chorus – I start to lock into the piano and electric piano as Atkins pushes her voice even further. Following that experience, the song introduces more and more instrumentation. Stringed instruments and percussive noises fill the air with sound. It’s quite a nice climb before you even hit the second verse.
The guitar solo is a nice addition to the song and is coming out of what sounds like a Leslie Speaker and a harmonized guitar solo is ALWAYS welcome in my headphones. The song builds to an exciting crescendo and at 3:40 – Well, you know what? I’ll leave that for you to explore. I will just end this by saying: I dug it. Big time.
-Tommy Marz
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