Nicole Atkins has secured a place in the over-crowded world of alternative folk with her quavering vibrato rock vocals. The New Jersey chamber-pop songstress follows in the footsteps of slow-jam pioneers like Roy Orbison rather than mimicking recent successes like The New Pornographers—meaning, each verse ends with extended vocal athletics and lyrics tend toward extended metaphors. The singer has dubbed her style “pop-noir,” and it’s refreshing to hear her replicate the darker vocal melo... (more)dies of Orbison or Ben E. King in a decade that’s filled with Brian Wilson knock-offs. Atkins and her band The Black Sea released an EP of four cover songs in late 2008, but are now on the road testing material for an album set to be released in 2010.

"Put on Asteroid 4, and you’re caught up in a wave of sound—lush, heady, enveloping and unhurried. Shoegaze, space rock, psychedelia, folk rock or garage—whatever your poison, Asteroid 4 is an apothecary’s lab of musical experimentation and combinations. Songs have a nostalgic quality that’s bittersweet and carefree. Mystical narratives weave in and out of the droning, layered melodies, which are filled with tambourines, guitars, vocal distortion and feedback." Philadelphia Weekly

"Make no mistake: This is one of the most tuneful, fired-up pop groups Philly currently has....the day is fast approaching where the local Philly opener will outshine the national headliner every time." - Philebrity