Nicole Atkins has been slowly teasing her upcoming album, Goodnight Rhonda Lee. The new album comes as Atkins is cleansing several of her demons, most notably in her new life of sobriety. While she appears to be saying goodbye to her former self, there’s another particular demon she hadn’t quite gotten rid of. That is until her new track, “Sleepwalking.”

“I kept having this reoccurring dream about a person I had a very intense relationship with,” Atkins tells Consequence of Sound. “Actually I’d have this dream for years and I’d wake up in a cold sweat. I’d wake up like, ‘Get out of my goddamn dreams!’ It was like being haunted by the living. Surely modern witchcraft of some sort.”

For Atkins, music proved to be the exorcism that she sorely needed. “I went over to my friend Reno Bo’s house to try and exorcize some demons and we came up with this song. Remembering that pain of just floating numb through a dream of something that once gave you so much hope and desire. When I recorded it I threw on some Love Boat horns in the middle eight because being dramatically sad should also be fun.”

The new track plays rather upbeat for such a sad subject for Atkins. Muted guitars and a shuffling drum beat provide a nice little groove as Atkins croons “I’m Sleepwalking.” You can feel Atkins shaking off this dream and the harm it’s done to her with this sunny little track.

Atkins has been out on tour for the new album and also made an appearance at this year’s SXSW. Check out the new track below and get ready for the new album out July 21.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat