Nicole Atkins and the Sea at Jack’s Music earlier this month.
Among rising global acts such as Arcade Fire and Amy Winehouse, Neptune singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins finds her major-label debut LP “Neptune City” in the top 10 of the year as chosen by pop music critic Jay Lustig of the Star-Ledger.
Not making the list: old warhorse and stay-at-home dad Bruce Springsteen, whose record “Magic” was only good enough for an honorable mention. Which is saying something, given the way the Sledger drools over his every move.
Atkins’ inclusion will surprise few who’ve followed her desultory career at the Jersey Shore or got turned onto her when she was included on Rolling Stone’s 10 Artists to Watch list of 2006.
Here’s what Lustig has to say in slotting her record at number 10:
A longtime member of the Jersey Shore rock scene and a current Asbury Park resident, Atkins makes modern-sounding music with an old-fashioned sense of romanticism, reminiscent of artists like Roy Orbison and the Ronettes. This album, her debut, established her as New Jersey’s most important new singer-songwriter of 2007.
Atkins is slated to play the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan Jan. 25 and at Algonquin Arts in Manasquan on Valentine’s Day.
