NATHANIEL RATELIFF SHAKE TV

ThereвЂ™s a lot to be said for having fun, and what you can say while having that fun. But it is a lot more fun to perform this wayвЂ¦dancing around and being a dickweed.вЂќ

вЂњItвЂ™s funny I think the material is definitely more upbeat but the content is still the same,вЂќ he says. He might still sing of loss and booze, but Rateliff now brings some funk and soul to his songs. With the Night Sweats, though, something has changed in Rateliff and not just in terms of the loneliness dissipating thanks to having a gang of people to hang out with while making music. At the time, I wrote of Falling that вЂњloneliness is writ large: not the kind of loneliness from actually being along, but the kind that comes from being constantly surrounded by people yet unable to shake the feeling of complete isolation.вЂќ There wasnвЂ™t any doubting that these feelings were real, it was that вЂ“ and I want to make it clear that there was nothing inherently wrong with the mostly acoustic songs вЂ“ the music they were presented with felt forced at times, created to fit that post-Mumford avalanche of worthy, real music. Yet Rateliff seemed to embody what he was singing about, something of a loner, straggly beard and a constant drink in his hand, truly living out the world of his songs. All three albums were very much a study in singer-songwriter territory, particularly the latter which painted a picture of an authentic trad-folk sort of artist, singing these songs about loss and drinking and a higher power. Not exactly new to the scene, it was back in 2007 that he released his first album as Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel, before following it up with solo albums In Memory of Loss in 2010 and Falling Faster Than You Can Run in 2012. Opportunity has taken a long time to come knocking on RateliffвЂ™s door. вЂњIt was very cool, and a really great opportunity for us.вЂќ

NATHANIEL RATELIFF SHAKE TV

Of course TV hosts, radio presenters, PRs and whoever else are paid to look and sound like each and every new release is the best thing since sliced bread, but FallonвЂ™s unabashed glee appeared completely genuine and came as something of a surprise to Rateliff: вЂњWe were all pretty excited because we didnвЂ™t know he was going to be pushing it like that throughout the show,вЂќ he says, still fairly shocked.

ThereвЂ™s going to be a lot of talk of authenticity here, and why not start with the Night SweatsвЂ™ most recent US TV appearance where Jimmy Fallon excitedly promoted the appearance throughout the show, before almost combusting right before the actual performance. In a search for authenticity, his decision to be (finally) true to himself has paid off big time.

and the Night Sweats record is a true representation of Nathaniel Rateliff now itвЂ™s no longer dressed up in solo singer-songwriter clothes. Eschewing the grit and acoustics for a rich, horn and key-heavy sound, whether itвЂ™s the riotous jam of вЂњS.O.B.вЂќ or the languid and soulful closing track вЂњMellow OutвЂќ this feels like a comfortable record for Denverite Rateliff to have made. Yet it does, and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats feels realer than anything the singer has given us in the past. Was this the same man, now 36-years-old, who just a few years ago gave us the grim Falling Faster Than You Can Run, an album dealing in booze, loss and sadness and mainly played by Rateliff himself? It was hard to believe this music вЂ“ the sound of Stax, the Memphis Horns, countless R&B and soul acts вЂ“ came from the same place, the same person.

Nathaniel rateliff shake