Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats

Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Monday, March 7

OVER the course of a pair of solo albums Nathaniel Rateliff had built a reputation for himself as an introspective stripped-back acoustic singer-songwriter with a distinctive characterful voice.

So it’s unlikely anyone would have expected his next guise, as frontman of critical darlings The Night Sweats – who released their self-titled debut on the legendary label Stax last year.

While Rateliff’s solo work occasionally burst into bigger life on songs like 2014’s Still Trying, the Night Sweats is all about the party – with a seven-piece classic soul-style band backing up Rateliff’s powerful vocals.

Slightly jet-lagged in his French hotel room as he prepares to begin another European leg of what is fast becoming a never-ending tour, Rateliff admits the change in style came from frustration about the limited release of his previous solo album Falling Faster Than You Can Run.

“A lot of songs came out of the discouragement I had experienced,” he says of the album, which he ended up releasing himself on the Mod y Vi Records, despite the critical acclaim which had met his debut In Memory Of Loss.

“I had been friends with the guys [the Night Sweats] for a long time, making a lot of different music together. I wanted to do a different project, and I had a bunch of great guys who were ready and willing to join along and see what happened. I didn’t have any expectations. It was something I wanted to do – it was nice to take a break from the singer-songwriter thing.”

With no idea whether the resulting album would ever see the light of day, Rateliff began by writing Trying So Hard Not To Know, the throat-ripping soulful third track on the album, which was quickly followed by Look It Here and Howling At Nothing.

“I wanted to make something like The Band or Sam And Dave,” he says. “We did it on our own, without a label or producer at that time. We knew we were proud of the finished product.”

The songs were all recorded as live takes with the band all together in the studio.

“We didn’t want to cut them up or make them sound too perfect,” says Rateliff, who brought producer Richard Swift in to finesse the project.

“He has great ears – he changed some of the arrangements, but he made us sound great. He made sure we didn’t sound like a dad-rock band. It was so relaxed, we were having a blast and hanging out.”

Perhaps the highpoint of the record is the song S.O.B., which combines Rateliff’s love of soul with a gospel-style arrangement, as he berates himself for his drinking.

In many ways it is his more introspective lyrics that provide the bridge between his solo work and Night Sweats album.

“It’s just a little bit more upbeat,” he says. “People enjoy that. I try to pour myself into the songs. Sometimes I don’t know what I’m singing about until a moment of discovery later when I’m performing the song and reliving the emotions that made me write it. I try not to take myself too seriously – I just try to go out and play a good show.”

Rateliff admits to not being someone who is constantly writing new music – although there are new songs in the pipeline for a possible second Night Sweats album.

“I play guitar all the time, but the writing happens when it needs to happen,” he says. “Sometimes I will work on it and try to be studious with my craft, and get better, but I don’t worry too much about writing songs. A bunch will come at the same time.

“Sometimes a song will just present itself to you, other times I’m sitting here working and digging into old material to see if there is anything there that I haven’t finished.

“There is still a block of material that isn’t finished, and wasn’t recorded as part of the album sessions with Richard.

“Through the rest of the year we’re trying to get to different markets and get the music out to them. Hopefully we should finish recording some stuff in May.

“We are trying to make it relaxed, but we are all giving our lives to it right now. We want to make this worth it for each of us. We don’t want to waste our time.”

Support from Matthew Logan Vasquez.

Doors 7.30pm, call 01273 673311 for returns or visit www.concorde2.co.uk