Nicole Atkins has announced her long-awaited new album, Drama, due out September 18 via Sun Records and Wicked Game Records. The record marks Atkins’ seventh studio album and her first collection of all-new material in more than six years. Alongside the announcement, Atkins has shared the album’s lead single, “When the Night Falls,” as well as an official music video filmed in Nashville and conceived by Atkins in collaboration with the Sun Records team.

“When the Night Falls” finds Atkins reconnecting with the sound and emotions that shaped her early work. Written with longtime friend Emery Dobyns, the song began with a chord progression that reminded her of the era surrounding her debut album, Neptune City. Reflecting on the track, Atkins explained that it revisits the subject of a toxic love affair but from a very different perspective. Rather than writing from the midst of heartbreak, she approaches the experience from a position of strength and hindsight, embracing what she calls her enduring love for the “sound” of heartache.

Recorded largely live over four days in Nashville with Grammy-nominated producer Pat Sansone, Drama explores themes of isolation, separation and loneliness within a long-distance marriage. The album was created after encouragement from Chris Isaak, who signed Atkins to Sun Records through his Wicked Game Records imprint. According to the announcement, the record moves through a wide range of styles, from girl-group pop and Memphis soul to noir-inspired arrangements and a duet with Isaak titled “Cue The Symphony.” With Drama, Atkins continues her pursuit of writing personal songs that draw inspiration from classic songwriting traditions while remaining true to herself.

Tracklist

01 Trippin’ on Teardrops

02 Singing in the Mirror

03 Like a Stranger

04 When the Night Falls

05 Cue the Symphony

06 Like It’s The First Time

07 Curtain Call

08 For No One

09 Real Life

10 Crying Out Loud

11 Danny

12 Softly, As You Were

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat