Nicole Atkins – New Album ‘Drama’, Her First in 6 Years, Out 18 September Via Sun Records
By NICOLE ATKINS
Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter Announces ‘Drama’, Her First All-New Full-Length Release in Over Six Years
First Single ‘When The Night Falls’ Out Now
New LP Produced by Wilco’s Pat Sansone with Contributions from Longtime Friend Chris Isaak, Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick, And More
‘Drama’ Arrives Friday 18 September Via Sun Records / Wicked Game Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save Available Now
Nicole Atkins is proud to announce her long-awaited new album ‘Drama‘, arriving via Sun Records / Wicked Game Records on Friday, 18th September. The acclaimed singer-songwriter’s seventh studio album and first all-new full-length release in over six years, ‘Drama’ is heralded by the first single, ‘When the Night Falls’, available everywhere now.
“I got together with my old friend Emery Dobyns to write a song together,” said Nicole Atkins. “We had these chords, and the feeling from the music reminded me of something I would’ve written for my first album, Neptune City, and I thought about where I was back then. The toxic love affair. And tying it into who and where I am now, and being able to write a song about terrible love from a place of power. Some would call it growth. I’m just still in love with the ‘sound’ of heartache. It gets me like no other.”
Largely recorded live over four productive days in her current home base of Nashville, TN, with GRAMMY® Award-nominated musician/producer Pat Sansone (Wilco, The Autumn Defense, Robyn Hitchcock), ‘Drama’ sees Atkins exploring the isolation, separation, and loneliness of a long-distance marriage through her signature fusion of musical genres and intimate lyrical songcraft. The album came together at the behest of her close friend and touring partner Chris Isaak, who signed her to Sun Records as part of his strategic alliance with the historic label as both artist and curator of new projects with his new imprint, Wicked Game Records. Drama spans style and era with smart design and an irrepressible buoyancy, from the girl group rush of “Trippin’ On Teardrops” and Memphis soul-styled “For No One” to the James Bond-meets-Stevie Nicks noir of “Danny” and the wonderfully moody duet with Isaak, “Cue The Symphony.”
Accompanied by her touring band, guitarist John Paul Keith and drummer Danny Banks, with contributions by Sansone, in-demand drummer Eric Slick (Dr. Dog, Robyn Hitchcock, Brian Fallon), The Texas Gentlemen’s Dan Creamer, and Scottish troubadour Davey Horne, Atkins once again showcases her alchemical ability to transform myriad influences into singular sonic statements, leaning into the deeply personal in her ongoing quest to “write modern songs that could be part of the Great American Songbook.” Through it all, Atkins’s vivid, unabashedly dramatic voice flies far above easy comparison. Neo-classicist, retro-futurist, and transcendental medium – Dramamakes it plain that Nicole Atkins somehow remains all of those things while always wholeheartedly following her own muse.
“I’m not trying to rehash or celebrate some bygone era,” Nicole Atkins says. “I’m just taking what I like melodically from the past, and channeling it into my songs. I like to make them deeply personal. The question I come back to is – how do I make this sound exactly like me?”
Nicole Atkins Drama
(Sun Records)
Release Date: Friday 18 September 2026
TRACKLISTING
Trippin’ on Teardrops
Singing in the Mirror
Like a Stranger
Cue the Symphony
Like It’s The First Time
Curtain Call
For No One
Real Life
Crying Out Loud
Danny
Softly, As You Were
About Nicole Atkins
: Hailed by NPR for “a voice that could melt the heart of a devil and a sense of humor dryer than a drought,” Nicole Atkins has long proven a critically acclaimed international favorite for her vivid vocal power and committed spirit of timeless songcraft. The New Jersey-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter has created a truly unique body of work all her own, spanning her iconic 2007 debut ‘Neptune City’, through 2020’s acclaimed fifth studio album ‘Italian Ice’, the latter of which drew praise for its lyrical warmth, vibrant color, and a tilt-a-whirl variety of musical grooves. A gifted live performer known for what avowed fan Elvis Costello enthusiastically called “some serious singing,” Atkins has spent much of the past two decades traveling the world’s stages as headliner, featured performer, and special guest to a wide array of similarly minded artists spanning Spoon, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Chris Isaak, the Hives, the Avett Brothers, and many more.
About Sun Records
Established in 1952 by Sam Phillips, Sun Records is renowned for discovering music legends including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The label moved to Nashville in 1969, where it continued to cultivate acclaimed artists such as Jeannie C. Riley, The Dixie Cups, Linda Martell, and many others. Today, as part of the Sun Label Group under Primary Wave, Sun Records continues to foster musical innovation while honoring its rich legacy, with a frontline roster that includes Ruthie Foster, Robert Randolph, The SteelDrivers, and The Waterboys. Ruthie Foster’s 2025 GRAMMY win for Mileage marked the first in Sun Records history, followed by Robert Randolph’s 2026 win for Preacher Kids, the label’s second.
PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE ‘DRAMA’ HERE
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