New York City's Premier Female Hard Rocker: Nicola

New York...what comes to mind? Yellow cabs? Times Square? SoHo? All this and more, perhaps. For it is more than just these landmarks that make New York City what it is; music and art truly leave the most memorable impressions.

It is incontestable that thousands pass through Penn Station daily. Even when rushing by, you're likely to catch a note or two of the fantastic street performers beside the subway platform. Among them, giving audiences a dose of her Latin-inflected fire, is Nicola, a singer/songwriter whose intensity is matched by few. Though she has played a number of gigs in venues across the world, she names Penn (referred to as "Music Under NY") as among her favorites.

In her career thus far, she has gone through many incarnations, something that critics have never quite been comfortable with. "People are used to musicians having one MO; [you're either] a visceral rocker or a cerebral poet." All one needs to do is examine her lyrics to see that she is both. On the cover of her sophomore album, What's The Point, Nicola appears nude, albeit hidden behind her guitar. In an ironic twist, most people missed the point: she incurred much controversy for her choice of image, despite the fact that she was illustrating the very title of her album. One reviewer even dispensed scathing criticism of Nicola's choice to wear a corset onstage. "If you don't like the music, fine...but don't sit there and pick at my outfit," she responds. On the other hand, were Nicola to wear modest (or even unflattering) clothes, the critics might rip that apart as well.

Nicola's debut, Real, was the first full-length album that she produced and put out on her own record label, Hot Cherry Records, in 2002. What's The Point, released in 2004, turned a number of casual listeners' and critics' heads toward Nicola's enthralling combo of Latin, straightforward arena rock, and bluesy acoustics. Fan favorites included the title track, in which she expresses:

What you know, what you do
Doesn't make a difference
What you know, it's nothing new
Doesn't matter anymore
Because where you go - you want to be
Just one step further
What's the point? It's been done before.

At shows, this has often been a crowd pleaser. In a sense, however, Nicola has put forth this theme in much of her recent music. As any enthusiast of popular music knows, the performer who is #1 in June may be unheard of in July.

Besides "What's The Point," other standouts included such rockers as "Bitch" (a diatribe against an eponymous brat) and "Your Walls," which exhibit not only Nicola's flexible voice, but the varied layers of sound that make up the essence of her band. These gems have continued to draw crowds at New York's venues such as Joe's Pub, The Bitter End, and Pianos, where she has had a chance to flex her rhythmic muscles.

Fast-forward: Nicola's latest work, Don't Take It Personally: Deluxe Edition (2008), has galvanized fans and critics alike, once again surpassing her previous album and proving further mastery of her craft. This album contains tracks not found on an earlier edition of this release, as well as a digital music video (if used as a CD-ROM). Featuring a completely new lineup, some new production by Marc Copely, a refreshing melodic palette, and a driving edge unseen in most pop music today, Personally is a force to be reckoned with. It opens with "Anybody Out There," an alternately harmonious, distorted, and psychedelic work that showcases Nicola's voice and lyrical poetry, as well as tight band interplay.

It may surprise first-timers that just when it seems they've figured out Nicola's sound, the next track may leave them in the dust. Take, for example, the third track, "Leavin' You Behind"; with its classic Latin percussion, spicy brass, and subtle chords, it evokes a summer evening in Cancun. As soon as it ends, the album seamlessly moves into the reggae-tinged "Crazy," a complete 360. Elsewhere, Nicola treads into propane-fueled rock with "Number One Fan," in which she sarcastically jabs:

I got an office on 5th Avenue
So I can call the shots for a select few
I live on Power Bars and drink Red Bull
And I wonder why I'm never full.

This track, in particular, takes aim at the greed of music industry corporate moguls.

Included on the disc is the gorgeous promo video for "Lighthouse," (also available here: NICOLA: Lighthouse - Standard Edition) which alternately exhibits Nicola against a serene beach backdrop, then explodes into hallucinogenic performances with her all-male band. Further into the song, the video moves into double exposures of the two scenes, emphasizing the themes:

I am a lighthouse, standing here
Stuck in the middle of your ocean
Calling mayday, mayday
But your ship won't turn around

Speaking of YouTube, Nicola's page also features exclusive footage of the songstress performing "Limited Knowledge" live at The Bowery Poetry Club, at an album release party. It may also interest you to know that she once performed our national anthem at Madison Square Garden (to fervent applause.) Among her other accolades are features in Billboard; an appearance on Oxygen TV's "Bad Girls Club,"; an ABC TV special on underground artists; and a feature (with her bandmates) in London's Punk Globe.

What's fascinating about Nicola is that she is not cut from the same cloth as most artists, which enables her to continue in the direction she's headed. Her brain thinks in constant polyphony and counterpoint, with melodic ideas in perpetual motion. Nicola says, "People will always try desperately to define and pigeonhole you as an artist, but isn't the crux of matter whether you make good music or not?"

In concert, like performers Phish, Tori Amos, and even Prince, Nicola's true talent and character shine through onstage in a way that an album cannot convey. She has upcoming shows in New York City, California, London, and beyond, so go and support her. Trust me; having seen Nicola live, I can tell you the experience will leave an indelible mark.

For more information on news, tour dates, music, video, and more, visit:

http://www.myspace.com/nicola

http://www.nicolanicola.com