Nicotine Dolls want to believe in love on ‘an Attempt at Romantic’

Recommended Tracks: “Backseat,” “nothin’ i do,” “Next to Me”
Artists You Might Like: John Mayer, Wyn Starks, Etham

What does it mean to be a romantic? Does it mean constantly looking for love, thinking that the next person you meet is going to be your soulmate? Does it mean buying someone a huge bouquet of flowers or surprising someone with a meal that you have been cooking for hours? Basically, to be a romantic, you have to believe in love. You strive to keep love alive when you can or find a way to let it go when it fizzles out, but in the end, you just want it to be a part of your life. On an Attempt at Romantic, the debut album by Nicotine Dolls, the pop-rock band gets in touch with their romantic side, or they at least try to. They experience moments of passion, of loneliness, of adoration – all in the hopes of finding a love to believe in.

Those moments of passion come through in tracks like “Backseat,” which opens the album. Written by the GRAMMY-winning Diane Warren, its rhythms hit you right away before transferring over to Sam Cieri’s signature raspy vocals. Here, he embodies the album title by singing, “Kiss me slow in the backseat / Put those hands on my body,” making time for romance. There’s also “Touch the Ground,” where Sam’s feelings of infatuation are so strong that he is defying gravity. He knows that he should be more immersed in reality, but he lets his feelings take over, expressing, “We should slow down / But I don’t want our feet to touch the ground.” On “Practice Makes Perfect,” he also gets caught up in the moment, listening to his heart instead of his head. It is all about seeing where the night goes on this track, with Sam revealing, “If we only got tonight, then let’s stop all the searching” and “We got the rest of our lives to find somebody worth it.”

And then we have those moments of loneliness, where love is only a distant memory. Glimmers of optimism shine through on “Walk Again,” which deals with the concept of change. After an acoustic-driven opening, the track explodes with drumbeats and guitar as Sam finds the strength to embrace life by himself. He observes, “I need to make it on my own / I need to find my way back home / I’ve never been good at being alone.” Elsewhere, he is itching to be with someone, as he shares on “I Need Love.” There is a frantic energy that builds in the verses, mimicking his impatience. All the while, he declares, “I need love!” and “I want it all, even if it hurts,” unashamed by his cravings. The mood then shifts and becomes more heavy-hearted on “You Won’t Have Me,” also written by Diane Warren. The lilting piano and strings gently guide Sam as he prepares for a break. It is easy for this to be a prideful song, where lines like, “Baby, you can have it all and you can have everything / But you won’t have me,” could be interpreted as petty jabs. However, he sings as if he is already missing this person, wishing that the situation was different.

When you cherish someone, you find yourself strongly feeling their absence. We can hear the longing in Sam’s voice on “nothin’ i do,” where he describes how anything other than spending time with someone he cares about is insignificant. As he sings, “Save me from spending my days without seeing your face when I wake,” the minimal production and catchy, simple melodies drive these messages home. Against the folk-rock feel of “Next to Me,” the vocals become more alive with desire. Throughout the song, Sam wishes that he was not so alone, mentioning that he “don’t remember how I should be” when this other person is not around. But no matter if these people are still in your life or not, the space they leave can always be felt. On the closing track, “Still Saying Goodbye,” we hear how each moment away from an ex is a way of “saying goodbye.” Whether these moments are full of sadness or filled with personal achievements, it all goes back to the task of parting ways. It serves as a solid finish to the album, showing that there can still be a bit of romance found in some of those more despondent times.

All in all, an Attempt at Romantic is a sprawling first album from Nicotine Dolls. Fans will be fully immersed in a world that the band has already built through previous releases, recognizing those emotive hues in Sam’s vocals and the sweeping production styles. And of course, there are the open, meaningful stories that are told in the lyrics. From receiving love to losing love – the many stages of being a “romantic” are at play. So, wherever you find yourself in the romantic universe, you can crank up the album and rest reassured that Nicotine Dolls understands.