Leeds date for Nathaniel Rateliff and his new band

Their first sold-out London headline show at The Lexington last month prompted rave reviews, with The Guardian proclaiming it ‘one of the best shows all year’. Nathaniel Rateliff, best known for his critically acclaimed 2010 solo record ‘In Memory of Loss’ returns with both a brand new band and sound.

The sparse, melancholic folk of Rateliff’s solo work has grown into a full soul sound and can be heard on the Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats self-titled album, produced by Richard Swift (The Black Keys, The Shins).

It’s a timeless collection of 11 tracks and testament to its pure quality is the fact that legendary label Stax are releasing it on August 21.

“These songs are about the struggles I’ve had in my life — drinking too much, that kind of crap,” said Rateliff.

“And then the relationships we all have. I’m not a great communicator in my personal life, so it’s funny to be writing songs that say the things that I’m never very good at saying.

“I try to be lighthearted because, although the songs are heavy, I want it to be a release for people.

“I’m trying to do something that’s emotionally charged and heartfelt and I want the experience to be joyous, for people to feel excited and dance around instead of being super-bummed by reality — I mean, things are hard.

“But I can remember dancing around to some song that was breakin’ my heart, dancin’ with tears in my eyes. I love that feeling, and I wanna share it with people, and hopefully they’ll feel it too.”

Catch Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats at the Belgrave Music Hall, in Leeds, on Friday, October 2.