Album: The Future (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats recorded their third album during the lockdown, putting the frontman in a reflective mood. The title track finds Rateliff looking deep within himself as he ponders mortality and grace.
  • Rateliff struggled to come up with this song title. "I'm a big fan of Leonard Cohen and I knew he had a record called 'The Future,'" he told the UK newspaper The Sun.

    Rateliff then decided it would be an appropriate name for the LP as well. "The album has a thread through all the songs - what is my future? What is our future? It just felt like an appropriate title," he said.
  • The album was recorded at Rateliff's Broken Creek Studio, just outside of Denver, Colorado. Rateliff and the band recorded it live as much as possible. For instance, the version of "The Future" on the record is only the second take Rateliff & the Night Sweats got down.
  • The album producers are:

    Bradley Cook (Bon Iver, Kevin Morby, The War on Drugs).

    R.M.B, who are the production trio of Rateliff, Night Sweats drummer Patrick Meese, and Beach House collaborator James Barone. The trio helmed Rateliff's 2020 solo album And It's Still Alright.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.