![]() A couple of tracks - "Whimper and Wail" and "A Lamb on the Stone" - feature a full rhythm section and pick up the tempo a bit, but for the most part, this an album of ballads in the grand troubadour tradition. Most of the cuts on In Memory of Loss contain little more than acoustic guitar, bass, and piano backing Rateliff's voice, which comes off as a cross between M Ward and the late Vic Chesnutt in both physical and emotional tone. Instead, he gives Rateliff plenty of room to do his thing, keeping the tracks agreeably spare and letting the songs themselves remain front and center. Producer Brian Deck, who has worked with the likes of Iron and Wine and Modest Mouse, is at the helm here, but he doesn't weigh the album down with a lot of excess arrangements. Nevertheless, Rateliff's Rounder debut marks the first time he has recorded strictly under his own name. He started out as part of a band called Born in the Flood before cutting Desire and Dissolving Men, an album of homemade recordings, under the name the Wheel on Denver-based micro-indie Public Service Records. Singer/songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff, who hails from a tiny town in Missouri, makes his official solo debut with In Memory of Loss. All of his folk albums are masterfully written and while I am glad he’s getting more attention with the Night Sweats, I wish more people paid attention to that early stuff.Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. One of the lines has him yelling with a desperation that gives me chills: “I could go backwards forever/ I could be boxed inside and living without/ well don’t blow my cover/ It’s taken years to make a beautiful shroud”. That’s not to say there aren’t songs on his early records in which he uses his powerful howl: one of the best songs on the record, Shroud, has him practically screaming the whole time. It’s quieter and more vulnerable, which partners quite well with his simple, yet beautiful instrumentation. Again, his voice shines through, but in a different way than it does with the Night Sweats. Turning to older material, Nathaniel’s second album, In Memory of Loss, is one of my favourite albums of all time. His howling combined with the musical prowess of the Night Sweats makes this an album you simply cannot ignore. He is able to bellow with such power, yet still manage to keep a kind of sweet gruffness in his voice. This man has a god-given talent, that much is clear. Probably the most obvious strength of the album is Nathaniel Rateliff’s absolutely killer vocals. The band formed in 2013, and released their self titled album earlier this year, which I have the pleasure of writing about today. Thankfully for all of us, he decided to try one more thing and switch from folk to an Otis Redding, Sam Cooke style doo-wop. ![]() ![]() Despite being one of the best singer-songwriters of his generation, Nathaniel was struggling to stay afloat. The thirty-six year old singer has been a musician for all of his adult life, and was until now performing primarily as a solo singer-songwriter. The success of the Night Sweats is great for the world in general, but it’s especially welcome for Nathaniel Rateliff himself. Just try and blast it without feeling those foot-tapping urges. The song is pure, emotional and overall electrifying. Their song S.O.B has over four million plays on spotify, and it absolutely deserves them. ![]() The group, fronted by the larger than life voice of Nathaniel Rateliff, has been reaching the top of the charts, performing on Jimmy Fallon and even receiving high praise from music legend Questlove. If you listen to some good radio, it’s likely that you’ve heard of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. ![]()
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