Tearing at the Seams is the second studio album by American band Nathan Rateliff & The Night Sweats. It was released on March 9, 2018 under Stax Records.[9]

Tearing at the Seams
Studio album by Nathaniel Rateliffe & the Night Sweats
Released	March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Genre	Soul[1] roots rock[2]
Length	46:54
Label	Stax
Producer	Richard Swift
Nathaniel Rateliffe & the Night Sweats chronology
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (2015) Tearing at the Seams (2018) And It's Still Alright (2020)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[3]
Metacritic	78/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Line of Best Fit	8.5/10[5]
MusicOMH	[6]
Paste	7.5/10[7]
PopMatters	8/10[8]

Songs

Singles

The single "You Worry Me" was released on January 11, 2018, along with the announcement of the new album.[9] The song charted at Number 1 on Billboard's Canada Rock,[10] number 1 on Adult Alternative Songs,[11] number 18 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs,[12]

On October 21, 2018, the music video to "A Little Honey" was released.[13] The song charted at Number 2 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs,[11] The song was performed live on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 6, 2018.[14]

"Hey Mama" was released as a music video on May 9, 2018.[15] The song charted at Number 1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs,[11]

Lyrics

Rateliff told Vincent Arrieta of The Buffalo News that while he is generally hesitant to divulge the origins and meanings of songs, he did reveal that "Babe I Know" was at least partly inspired by his divorce, saying "I was kind of going through a lot in my personal time and trying to write about that situation and without being too revealing. The words of that whole song [are] sort of like saying goodbye to somebody, but also recognizing that I just wasn't receiving what I really needed – which was to be blown away by somebody and breathless around the person you care about.” [16]

Critical reception

Tearing at the Seams was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews.[4] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 72 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews.[1]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the album "feels very much like a record worked out on the road. It's filled with high-octane grooves and gritty vamps, punctuated by the occasional moment of acoustic reflection. Often, the vibe trumps the songs, which is actually not much of a problem. The Night Sweats know how to re-create classic soul sounds."[2]

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

References