The Future (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats album)

The Future is the third studio album by American rock band Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. It was released on November 5, 2021 by Stax Records. The album was produced by Brad Cook and R.M.B. (consisting of Rateliff, Patrick Meese, and James Barone) with additional production by Elijah Thompson.

The Future
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 5, 2021
StudioBroken Creek Studio (Colorado)
GenreSoul, rock, blues[1][2][3]
Length41:51
LabelStax
Producer
  • Brad Cook
  • R.M.B.
  • Elijah Thomson
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats chronology
And It's Still Alright
(2020)
The Future
(2021)

Background edit

The band recorded The Future in Rateliff's Broken Creek Studio outside of Denver and wrote songs that reflected on times during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, Rateliff said of the recording process: "When I was writing the record, we were in the middle of a pandemic and our future looked pretty bleak. I just continue to try to write from a place of hope. Then 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."[4]

Singles edit

The album's lead single "Survivor" was released on August 18, 2021.[5] The song peaked at number 46 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Promotional singles edit

The album's first promotional single "Love Don't" was released on September 26, 2021[6] followed by "What If I" on October 15, 2021.[7]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[8]
Metacritic79/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
American Songwriter     [10]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[2]
Rolling Stone    [3]

Upon its release, The Future received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Nathaniel Rateliff, except track 2 which was co-written by Rateliff with Sam Cohen and Patrick Meese

No.TitleLength
1."The Future"3:41
2."Survivor"4:01
3."Face Down in the Moment"4:39
4."Something Ain't Right"3:34
5."Love Me Till I'm Gone"3:48
6."Baby I Got Your Number"3:31
7."What If I"3:34
8."I'm on Your Side"3:18
9."So Put Out"3:01
10."Oh, I"3:28
11."Love Don't"5:10
Total length:41:51

Charts edit

Weekly charts edit

Chart performance for The Future
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 116
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 87
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 33
US Billboard 200[14] 165

References edit

  1. ^ a b Monger, Timothy. "The Future - Nathaniel Rateliff, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kuscher, Oliver (November 5, 2021). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats show us that The Future is bright". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Dolan, Jon (November 5, 2021). "Nathaniel Rateliff's Throwbacks Wear Well on 'The Future'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Lavin, Will (August 18, 2021). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats announce third album 'The Future'". NME. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Hudak, Joseph (August 18, 2021). "Nathaniel Rateliff Previews New Album With Thumping Track 'Survivor'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Share New Single "Love Don't"". Jambands. September 26, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Jones, Abby (October 15, 2021). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats share new single "What If I": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "The Future by Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "The Future by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Zimmerman, Lee (November 6, 2021). "Review: Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats Offer Timely Tunes". American Songwriter. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – The Future" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – The Future" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2022.