NICOLE ATKINS
Memphis Ice SINGLE LOCK
New Jersey native brings Broadway to Memphis in bravura performance
7/10
Atkins wasn’t joking when she name-checked Garland and Minelli following this audacious live performance of songs from her delightful 2020 album Italian Ice, accompanied only by piano, violin and cello, having challenged herself to approach her own songs as if they were standards. Several of them, including “Captain”, “Forever” and “In The Splinters”, could be mistaken for Sondheim or Lloyd Webber show tunes, while “Far From Home” sounds like a Brill Building-era Carole King demo. Atkins belts and emotes without a trace of irony, clearly revelling in her ability to timetravel to a bygone era. To get the full effect, you have to see her pull it off, which renders the performance film the definitive version.