Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Soulful roots run deep on Night Sweats’ debut

Music | August 19th, 2015

There’s a deep satisfaction I take in the fact that Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ self-titled debut comes courtesy of the revitalized Stax Records imprint, a label that historically pumped out album after soaked-brow album by the likes of Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs and Sam & Dave until folding in the mid-’70s. The label’s 21st century reboot signifies the unassailable place that soul music has carved out within the canon of popular American music, evident in the recent successes of artists like Alabama Shakes, Leon Bridges, and St. Paul & the Broken Bones.

There are numerous sociological theories as to why pop culture cycles through phases of appreciation for “retro” or “vintage” artifacts, but if there is anything that music lovers have learned from the booms and busts of revival acts, it’s how to sniff out bullshit. And there is a fine, fine line between an artist passionately co-opting their biggest influences and one just making a slick mimicry of the past.

Rateliff and his crack band are most certainly the former. Like sponges, the septet have seemingly sopped up every good record they’ve heard in their lives and are hard-pressed to contain themselves. Even upon an initial spin of their debut, nearly every tone, lick and chord progression can be traced back to a safe assumption of origin. It’s hard not to hear both sides of Sam & Dave’s right-back-at-ya vocals in Rateliff’s throbbing-vein yawps, though it’s just as clear that he’s taken a few pages out of Marcus Mumford’s book in making his vocals the tornadic center of any song, though he better not think for one second that he’s fooling anyone in lifting the chorus chords of the Band’s gospel classic “The Weight” for his own barroom ballad, “Wasting Time.”

While it’s a good enough time to pick these songs apart in an effort to guess Rateliff’s desert island albums, the record undoubtedly stands on its own two legs. The song structures on display here are time-tested, and though their own familiarity may grease a listener’s ear, it’s Rateliff’s rumbling tent-revival conviction that ultimately drives the album home. Take, for example, the album’s lead single and crown jewel, “S.O.B.,” a straight-ahead 12-bar blues about the tormenting effects of alcoholism. Hell, legends like Son House and Robert Johnson perched their entire musical careers on those two elements, but that combination hasn’t yielded a Billboard-topping song in years, maybe decades. However, Rateliff, wielding his larger-than-life soul shout, turns the obscenity-anchored chorus into the strongest shot at the top spot to be heard in a long time.

It’s clear, however, that the Night Sweats didn’t blow all their effort on just that one song. This is an album for the album-lover, from start to finish. From the pounding get-go of “I Need Never Get Old,” to the final daydreamy notes of “Mellow Out,” the record is perfectly paced and flush with some of the catchiest songs this side of the Top 40, and it makes choosing a favorite an internal battle of hemming and hawing.

It may not be a particularly dense album, artistically, but taken at face value, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ debut is a stunning leap from the gate, sure to go down as one of the most flat-out fun records of this year.

KNDS 96.3 Suggests

The Arcs, “Put a Flower in Your Pocket”

A tale of inner-city hustling anchored by stoned-soul guitars and a dubby low end, the latest output from Dan Auerbach’s side project would fit in nicely on any given Tarantino soundtrack.

Deerhunter, “Snakeskin”

It takes a certain kind of person to be able to pull off snakeskin without seeming tacky as all hell. Bradford Cox and co. must be just those kind of people, as they drive the track’s archetypal funk guitar riffs into menacing territory.

Diane Coffee, “Spring Breathes”

http://www.stereogum.com/1823306/diane-coffee-spring-breathes-soon-to-be-wont-to-be/mp3s/

The best thing to come out of the trainwreck that is Foxygen may be Diane Coffee, the solo moniker of the band’s drummer Shaun Fleming. Steeped in AM psychedelia, Fleming darts through a kaleidoscopic suite of oohing, ahhing choirs and heavy freakouts on “Spring Breathes.”

Squeeze, “Happy Days”

Seventeen years since their last release, the English pop-rockers return with a four-and-a-half minute dose of Vitamin D.

Terribly Yours, “Answered Prayers”

https://soundcloud.com/terribly-yours/answered-prayers-out-8142015

Disarmingly vulnerable, “Answered Prayers” is songwriter Sean Bones’ reflection on his own anxiety about whether or not the music he made would be heard outside of his own basement. Thankfully for all parties involved, it’s reached beyond those confines.

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…

By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…

Saturday, May 3, 7 p.m.-MidnightPlains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave. N., FargoDon’t miss the art party of the year! What goes on at the gala? There’s a silent art auction with music by Low Standards and DJ Star IV, hors d’oeuvres…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIt’s no secret that there are folks among us who make our communities a more vibrant place through both their actions and means of creative expression. Heck, you could be one of them yourself.…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comThere is a big difference between ears and legsOur English language adds words to dictionaries every year because there are more than 6,000 languages on earth and we do communicate with friends and…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…

By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com I remember when I was young, probably 11 years ago. One morning I was not feeling well because of my period. After I got ready to go to school, I went back to bed and it was hard to get up…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…