Nadia Elvista, a singer whom Nicole says lives in a homeless shelter in Memphis, Tennessee, guests on a delicately constructed vocal duet called “Au-Dela Des Mots (Beyond Words),” contributing additional lyrics, as well. She brings a stark spiritual complexity to the song, which has an old-world gypsy feel at times, even as she conveys all of the shattering hard times she must have seen. Elvista then returns for Nicole’s quietly effective update of “Love Me Tender,” the great old Elvis Presley hit, and once again she’s a wonder of furtive sensuality.

Nick DeRiso