151. Song No. 2,328: “Darkness Falls So Quiet,” Nicole Atkins
Goodnight Rhonda Lee, 2017

Goodnight Rhonda Lee embodies Jersey girl Nicole Atkins’ transformation from alcoholism to sobriety, from indie-rock songstress to soulful singer, and it beautifully recasts all the things that made her previous albums so good in those lights while indicating what kind of musically rich future is on the horizon (if you haven’t listened to her newest album, Italian Ice, you need to stop everything and do your ears a favor right now). It’s probably my favorite of her albums: Not one is a dud and they’re all excellent in their own rights, but Goodnight Rhonda Lee feels like what happens after everything comes together and an artist figures out what they’re meant to do with their creative path. I think Atkins’ albums tend to sound like a collection of really great songs, whereas this one felt masterfully cohesive.

“Darkness Falls So Quiet” embodies that revelation and reclamation, though in a much different capacity. Maybe it’s because I’m getting used to cheering on my friends as they untangle themselves from relationships that are hard to leave but too unhealthy to stay in, but I love me a good, anthemic song about a woman not mourning a fresh ex but celebrating that newfound understanding of her own worth.

I’ve had the joy of seeing Atkins play live twice and it defies all logic the way her presence and her music absolutely fill and transform that space, whether it’s an outdoor stage or an intimate late-winter venue. Her fourth album is, I think, the best studio approximation of how the lyrics, the music and the life animating all of them squeezes into every crack and groove and nook they can to take on the feeling of any given area they occupy, and “Darkness Falls So Quiet” benefits the most from whatever energy’s propelling all the various parts of a song to expand as far as they can. By the time Atkins hits the lyrical road, that rushing-by evening and increasing distance have a tangible velocity and palpable heft, and it is some delightful bit of magic to witness.