I came to Nicole Atkins late, via David Byrne Radio in 2008, and she’s been on my playlist ever since. Born Neptune, New Jersey, did the usual ellipt­ical, form­ative stuff, formed Nicole Atkins & The Sea, released a ter­rific debut album, Neptune City, pro­duced by Tore Johansson, in late 2007, sub­sequent parting of the ways with Columbia and others, another album, Mondo Amore, and this unplugged gig in rainy Clerkenwell.

Downstairs at The Slaughtered Lamb is a dark, air­less place and I didn’t see her appear out of the gloom until she plugged her acoustic guitar into the PA on the small patch of leopard-patterned carpet that was the entire per­form­ance area. After the over­flowing orches­tra­tion of Neptune City and the raw, swampy Mondo Amore, could a girl with a guitar still slay us?