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Soon to be 40-year-old Nathaniel Rateliff had been hanging at the precipice of a struggling music career since his early 20s. The Denver, Colorado based blue eyed soul singer released four albums in six years under various guises with little to no success before finding the winning combination in 2013 when he put together the Night Sweats with long time collaborating multi-instrumentalist Joseph Pope III. In addition to Pope (bass) and Rateliff (guitar & vocals) this soulful 8-piece revolves around the talents of Mark Shusterman (keyboards) Patrick Meese (drums) and Luke Mossman (guitar) as well as a joyously punchy horn section provided by Jeff Dazey (saxophones) Scott Frock (trumpet) and Andy Wild (saxophones). Building on the success of their Platinum selling 2015 self-titled debut album Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats these modern era Stax Records recording artists return to the fray firing on all cylinders with their relentlessly boisterous and powerfully uplifting Richard Swift produced sophomore album Tearing At The Seams. From the very first note of the searing Last Waltz era Band sounding opening track “Shoe Boot” to the final strains of its concluding title track this positively infectious record grabs hold of the listener and never lets go. An instant classic, even more triumphant than its predecessor.

Rating: 8/10

Star Rating: 4/5

 

2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 14/52