Ty Listens to Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats New Album "Tearing at the Seams"

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their much anticipated second album about a week ago, and I'm here to tell you today that it was totally worth the wait.

I loved their first record. I love Rateliff's gruff voice. I love the way his band plays the music. They sound tight, and they can play that bluesy folk music almost as good as The Black Keys. Granted, I was very late to them the first time around, I am glad that I decided to give this band a try. I had kind of cooled on them after hearing their first record, and the song "Son of a Bitch" over and over again. Their record came out over a week ago, but I was still late to this one as well. I hadn't bought it yet because, to be quite frank, I had forgotten they were making a second one. But, a buddy of mine texted me the other day and said that their record was his favorite record right now. I trust this guy's opinion because he is a good friend, and we have very similar music tastes. So, that night after receiving his message, I bought the record. Now I am going to tell you all about it.

The new album is called "Tearing at the Seams" by the way. I decided that I would wait until the following day to give it a listen. I figured if my buddy said it was good, it would be, but I could wait. Well, since I bought it this past Saturday, I have been listening to it on repeat. This record, from top to bottom is truly wonderful. They sound so, so good. From the opening track to the closer, every song is perfect. I knew from the first note of the opening track, "Shoe Boot", that I was fully in on this record. When those horns come in, and the band plays with them, it is so uniquely Rateliff and his band. Then, after the almost 2 minute instrumental intro, Rateliff breaks into song, and the rest of the song rules. It is the PERFECT opener to a record like this, with a band that sounds like this. From there on out it is stunning. Immediately following "Shoe Boot", we get a great throwback R&B song that could have easily been recorded at Stax. The song is called "Be There", and it is amazing. Rateliff channels his inner 70's soul singer voice and crushes the vocals. The band plays a simple 4/4 rhythm, but it wonderful attached to the lyrics. A few songs later we get "Say It Louder", which sounds like one of the sweeter songs on the record. It is a great, but sad song, put to upbeat music. It is kind of fun to dance to I might add. "Say it Louder" is then followed by a very, very sweet song, "Hey Mama". I love this tune so much. It has excellent vocals and great piano playing attached to the rest of the instruments. And when the horns come in, I get chills every time I hear it. There are 2 songs featuring Lucius, "Babe I Know" and "Coolin Out". They couldn't be more different, but in all the right ways. "Babe I know" is one of the more tender songs on the record. It is played slowly and sweetly. "Coolin Out" has that Stax feel again, equipped with background singers doo the "shoo shoo" stuff. It is awesome. The title track, "Tearing at the Seams" is a thing of beauty. It is perfectly sung by Rateliff. Only he could pull off the vocals needed for a song like this. In fact, this song reminds me so much of something that The Band would have recorded back in the 70's, and I adore The Band. That is a very, very big compliment. I cannot understate enough how beautiful and classic this song sounds. "I'll Be Damned" is a great way to follow up the epic "Tearing at the Seams". It is more upbeat, faster paced and fun. This might be my favorite song to dance to on the record. My daughter also loves to jump up and down when this track plays. This also sounds most like stuff off his first record, in a good way. And closing the record out is the excellent "Boiled Over". It is such a good closer. It is slower and lets the band shine with how they play ballads. But, this track is a showcase for Rateliff's awesome and different singing style. He sings the hell out of this song. It is so god damn good. In fact, this whole record rules.

The songs I singled out today are the ones I really, really like. But, I like the whole record. This is a triumph. This record has me excited to see them live, and to see where they go from here. "Tearing at the Seams" is pretty much the perfect record for this genre of music. Seriously people, if you like Rateliff, want to check him out, or are just looking for some bluesy/folksy/old school R&B music to check out, buy this record now. It is totally worth it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time asked the Head Editor if he wanted to play some blues. The Head Editor declined, something about that music depresses him.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.