Rateliff and the Night Sweats performing in Colorado in August 2015īeginning in 2013, while still performing and recording with earlier solo and group projects, Rateliff embarked on a more upbeat, soulful sound with longtime collaborator Joseph Pope III and other collaborators in shows around Denver and Boulder. 2013–present: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats On the same day he set out on a tour with The Lumineers and Dr. On September 17, 2013, Rateliff released Falling Faster Than You Can Run on Mod y Vi Records. In Memory of Loss was recorded with producer Brian Deck ( Iron & Wine). Nathaniel Rateliff then released In Memory of Loss in the USA on Rounder Records in May 2010, and then in the UK on Decca in March 2011. Shortly after the breakup of Born in the Flood, Rateliff released Desire and Dissolving Men on Public Service Records. The project expanded with more live performances, adding Julie Davis (upright bass/vocals), Carrie Beeder (organ/violin), James Han (keys/vibes), and Ben Desoto (drums/flute). In 2007, while still performing with Born in the Flood, Rateliff began recording and performing more personal, somber content both solo and with BitF bandmate and lifetime collaborator Joseph Pope III (bass/guitar/vibes/organ/harmonica). Rateliff performing in Colorado in May 2010 2007–2014: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel Despite increasing success with Born in the Flood, Rateliff turned down an offer from Roadrunner Records, and shifted his focus to a more stripped-down, solo effort, playing somber, singer-songwriter content under his name and "Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel". In February 2007, Born in the Flood released their first full-length album If This Thing Should Spill. In 2002, Rateliff formed Born in the Flood, quickly garnering a large following in Denver and headlining local festivals like the Westword Music Showcase. As a teenager he taught himself guitar, began writing songs and, at eighteen, moved to Denver. ![]() He grew up in Hermann, Missouri, learning to play the drums at age seven. He has released three solo albums, two solo EPs, and one album as Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel. Rateliff has performed with a backing band called the Night Sweats for an R&B side project he formed in 2013. The frustrated souls who recognize the two voices of the lyrics arguing in their heads will probably recognize this feeling, too.Nathaniel David Rateliff (born October 7, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, Colorado, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. But the overall sense is of an experience which simply does not stop, is impatient with pauses, is relentless. The moments when the forward movement is interrupted - for pedestrians, for traffic signals which hold things up for a moment - provide some relief. It’s “just” a black-and-white film, not quite all in one take (although it feels like it), of a driver’s-eye view through the windshield of a car in almost non-stop traffic. But pretty much anyone who’s tried (and tried hard) to succeed at one art form or another may see in it an interior dialogue, too: between the self-pitying voice that says, I may as well give up, and the loving but sterner one that says, Who are you trying to kid? You haven’t started working yet! The visuals which accompany the song seem to encourage a non-literal understanding of what it’s about. But his mother’s simply not having it:īetter start acting like this here’s a race…Īs I say, the literal interpretation works just fine. The guy feels sorry for himself, how hard he works, how little reward he’s gotten for it all, and so on. “Hey Mama,” the single whose video I’ve featured here, can be interpreted literally - as a dialogue between a young man and his mother. (It doesn’t hurt that the label behind them is the legendary Stax Records, described by Wikipedia as “a major factor in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music.”) But yeah: in the spirit of the music and the sense of the lyrics you’ll find plenty of soul. And the lead instrumental voices are those of rock, principally guitar, bass, and drums. Rateliff’s powerful voice won’t make you think Sam Cooke has been reincarnated. How to characterize their music…? The sound is country-ish, Americana-ish, sorta-kinda Southern rock, but the label which seems most often and most strikingly mentioned alongside the band’s name is soul. ![]() Suddenly they’re again on everyone’s radar - including mine, this time around - for the release of their second album, Tearing at the Seams. ![]() But that notion, apparently, makes sense only because I’d never paid attention to various email notifications I’d received about them in recent years. ? I thought I’d never even heard of this band before this week.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |