Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats Have Their Eyes on ‘The Future’, Preview New Album With ‘Survivor’ [Listen]

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats have announced their third studio album, The Future, due out on Nov. 5 via Stax Records. "Survivor," the first single from the project, is now available.

"Survivor" comments on the duality of being seen as a “survivor,” mixing the vulnerability of Rateliff’s solo work with the big-band sounds of the Night Sweats. “I’m afraid that the weight of the world is catching up with you / I’m afraid to admit that it’s catching up to me, too," Rateliff sings.

As MusicRow notes, the soul-influenced Americana act retreated to Rateliff’s own Broken Creek Studio in their home state of Colorado to write the songs on The Future, with the goal of commenting on current times while also looking ahead.

“Our future looked pretty bleak,” notes Rateliff on writing the album during a pandemic. “I just continue to try to write from a place of hope.”

But hope is a tricky thing in such uncertain times, and Rateliff admits, "My own neurosis, and maybe being a Libra, gets in the way, and I can’t make up my mind. There is this constant back-and-forth battle in me personally, and I am sure that comes out in my writing.”

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats have been making waves in the Americana scene since their self-titled album, now certified gold in the United States, dropped in 2015. Rateliff’s 2020 solo album, And It’s Still Alright, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Americana/Folk chart and stayed at No. 1 on the Americana albums chart for eight weeks.

Full album details for The Future are below. The record is available for pre-order at NathanielRateliff.com.

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, The Future Tracklist:

1. "The Future"
2. "Survivor"
3. "Face Down in the Moment"
4. "Something Ain’t Right"
5. "Love Me Till I’m Gone"
6. "Baby I Got Your Number"
7. "What If I"
8. "I’m on Your Side"
9. "So Put Out"
10. "Oh, I"
11. "Love Don’t"