Bob Dylan is one of the most influential folk rock icons in American
music and pop culture. He began as a folk singer and key figure in the
60s protest movement, composing songs that chronicled social and civil
rights issues of the decade. In the decades that followed, Dylan
experimented with electric sets and continued to be a musical and
poetic songwriting power. With a career that spans nearly 60 years,
Dylan has received numerous awards including a Lifetime Achievement
Award, the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, and a Presidential
Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama, among others. For a long time I
always had to go off on my own,” says Nathaniel Rateliff of his
creative process. “For the first Night Sweats record, I demo’ed
everything up and created most of the parts. But for this new record,
I felt like we’d all spent so much time on the road that we should
all go off somewhere together. We should have that experience
together. I wanted the guys to feel like they were giving something to
the project beyond just playing.” In other words, the Missouri-bred,
Denver-based frontman wanted to make the band disappear along with
him—out in the middle of the desert at first, and then deep in the
woods. The result is the aptly titled Tearing at the Seams, a
vivacious and inventive full-band record, with significant
contributions from all eight members of The Night Sweats. These songs
are grounded in old-school soul and r&b but are far too urgent for the
retro or revivalist tag. There are familiar elements of soul and
garage rock, but also jazz and folk and even country: the crackling
energy on opener “Shoe Boot,” the cathartic sing-along of
“Coolin’ Out,” the melancholy folk of the closing title track.
“The future of this band is to take everything we’ve ever done in
the past and just do it with our own little twist,” says Rateliff.
“I hear that in my favorite bands. They just sucked everything
up.” The album shows The Night Sweats tearing at their own seams, at
their own sturdy sound, at their long-held definitions of friend and
family and band. It’s an album that builds on the sound of their
debut but dramatically redefines what they can do and where they can
go next. Says Rateliff, “I want—and I need—everybody to feel
like they’re a part of this band. I want them to feel like they’re
contributing artistically and emotionally to the experience of writing
and creating this music. We’ve all had to make sacrifices to be in
The Night Sweats, and I want them all to know that it’s worth
something.” - See upcoming events + giveaways at Greek Theatre -
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15/06/2020 Last update