Denver artist Nathaniel Rateliff appears to be gaining a good deal of notoriety in Europe, and as a result, seems to have spent as much or more time touring there as in the U.S. Find a recent interview with British blog There Goes the Fear here.
Since I have posted about 47 different youtube videos of him performing "Shroud," I thought it might be nice to post this clip of his recent performance of "We Never Win" on Later... with Jools Holland. Rateliff returns to the U.S. in early June for a string of sold-out shows opening for Mumford & Sons.
Word on the street (i.e., the internet) is that Rateliff will also be releasing a 10" vinyl EP of live recordings, half from the Daytrotter Barnstormer Tour in 2010 and the other half from the Notting Hill Arts Club in London in February 2011. The record is being co-released by Daytrotter and Communion Records. While Rateliff apparently already played a record release show for this EP in London on 05/26/11 (or 26/05/11, I suppose), no information has been released as to when/if it might be more widely available to those of us who do not live in London. Given that Daytrotter vinyl tends to sell out ridiculously fast, I expect the window for buying this record will be quite narrow.
Early Spring Till This Bumps and Bruises You Should’ve Seen The Other Guy
Daytrotter Side:
Pounds and Pounds Whimper and Wail Brakeman Shroud
Finally, while the U.S. release of In Memory of Loss does not include "Shroud" or "Pounds and Pounds," both are available on the recent Record Store Day 7" from Rateliff. Should you be so inclined, you can still find a few copies of it for fairly cheap on Ebay.
Oh man, what I would give to be in Denver right now kicking back a 5 Barrel and listening to this guy.
Easily one of the best music blogs in the country, the Denver Post's Reverb just released their Mile Marker session for Nathaniel Rateliff, featuring an acoustic session with Nathaniel and backing vocals by Julie Davis and Joseph Pope. Mile Marker is roughly Denver's equivalent of Daytrotter, except much more like Daytrotter when it was relatively new. That is, they have very few sessions up right now.
In short, they've got 4 free Nathaniel Rateliff recordings up for you, so it's probably a good time to check them out. When you go listen, check out Amazon, because they've got the full album from this band for $5, but probably just through the end of January. Rumor has it that the band has a 7" with "Shroud," "Pounds and Pounds," and "This" for sale on tour, but not yet to the masses of us who don't live on the band's tour route. I'm holding out for catching about five of his shows during SXSW though, so I can wait for now.
My favorite song thus far from Denver-based Nathaniel Rateliff for some reason didn't make it onto their debut record, although even more oddly, "Shroud" was included on their U.K. release of In Memory of Loss. I tried to download the track through Amazon MP3 U.K., but apparently they put regional restrictions on the download, so you can't get it in the U.S.
All that said, Rateliff's Web site indicates that the song will be released in some form in the relatively near future, although no official date has been established. In the meantime, you can hear the new version of the song in the video below:
This album should be nothing new to anyone that reads Windfarm, and while I've mentioned it a number of times, I am just now getting around to reviewing the record, four months after it came out. Denver based Nathaniel Rateliff released In Memory of Loss on Rounder Records at the beginning of May, and has received a good deal of acclaim nationally for it, so you likely don't need my opinion to sway you one way or the other.
I find it hard to describe the record without going way overboard with wordy descriptions, but it projects a somber tone throughout, buoyed by well placed lyrical phrasing and nearly impeccable harmonies. A couple of months ago, H. and I drove through the Kiowa National Grasslands in northeastern New Mexico while listening to this album, and I don't know that I'll ever be able to listen to the record again without it conjuring those stark and vast landscapes in my mind. In Memory is a soundtrack to loneliness that for some reason perfectly fit with that landscape. The lyrics are such that they seemingly could have been written a hundred years ago in that very place and setting, and you wouldn't question their authenticity.
As I've mentioned before, some of Rateliff's best material didn't even make it on to this record, apparently because they are slated for a follow-up release in some form, supposedly in the relatively near future. If you have not done so, I highly recommend you check out "Shroud" and "Pounds and Pounds" from the band's Daytrotter sessions (here and here). Those sessions are free, but I can't recommend strongly enough that you pick up a copy of this amazing full length record.
I know the non-Denverites amongst you may be resistant to hearing me rave about Denver's best new act, but I honestly believe you are all going to know about Nathaniel Rateliff before too long. His debut album In Memory of Loss has been out for around two months now and I continue to listen to it on a regular basis. You'll hear more about that album when I get around to my backlog of album reviews.
For now though, you should know that Daytrotter just posted a new session from Rateliff, and as usual, it is free to download. Check out the session here.
The four songs in this session are absolutely representative of Rateliff's amazing work, and his phenomenal backing band shows through on the tracks as well. "Brakeman" is one of my favorites of Rateliff's from his full length, and this version is outstanding as I would have expected. You'll also find a new song that is not on In Memory, entitled "Pounds and Pounds." I think I've heard the song live once before, and it's fantastic. Did I mention the download is free?
Rateliff recently played the Daytrotter Barnstormer tour, and my hope is that recordings from those shows will be available for download at some point in the foreseeable future. I have recently come to realize that I may not have the opportunity to see him again live before we move from Colorado, but at least he's put out two Daytrotter sessions and a full-length record that I can continue to try to make all my friends listen to. Just start listening now so I don't have to start hassling you about it.
Also, have I mentioned that Nathaniel looks a LOT like Daniel from Thrift Store Cowboys? If there is any way I can get them together for a picture at the UMS, I think the world may explode.
Denver's Nathaniel Rateliff has been putting out some good material prior to next week's digital release of his new album. Check out the recent video from Yours Tru.ly recorded during SXSW:
In Memory of Loss - Nathaniel Rateliff Digital release this Tuesday, April 27 on Rounder Records. In stores May 4th.
Interestingly, apparently Itunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody each have a different bonus track that comes with the album. Puts the fans in an interesting position, especially assuming the bonus tracks are album-only, meaning one would have to buy the album 3 times to get each of the 3 songs.
It is a relatively rare occurrence that I attend a concert with the primary intent of watching the opening act, especially if I don't know the headliner's music at all. It's not intentional really, but often local openers are stuck on a bill for no good reason other than hoping they'll bring a few people in. I think the last time I went to a show for the opener was to see Centro-matic open for Jason Isbell roughly two and a half years ago, although that part of the story isn't terribly important. Saturday night we went to see Denver artist Nathaniel Rateliff open for The Low Anthem at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. I first came to know of Rateliff last summer when he opened for Bon Iver for the sold out show at the same venue, and have been following his music ever since.
In short, Rateliff has gained some substantial notoriety in the past year, signing to Rounder Records, being fussed over at CMJ and SXSW, and getting press from the likes of Vanity Fair for his upcoming album on Rounder Records. I had actually intended to see him at SXSW this year, but being a Denver band, I figured I could catch them again without much trouble. And I was right. Interestingly, Rateliff's current band began as a side project from his band Born in the Flood, but at this point, the side project has become the main project. BITF co-founder Joseph Pope III now joins Rateliff's new band, although with the similarities in lineup between the two bands, the differences between the two is striking. Compared to the indie pop of Born in the Flood (see "Anthem"), Rateliff's current band finds their sound on a musical road much less traveled, yet the strength of the vocal harmonies and instrumentation are immediately captivating.
The crowd on Saturday night was one that I could most succinctly characterize as the NPR crowd. I don't mean that in any derogatory way, but compared to say, the Band of Horses crowd, this one was a good bit older, and substantially less concerned with their hip-ness. Unfortunately for the bands, the crowd was relatively sparse, although as a listener, I admittedly enjoy the less congested shows. What was most impressive about this crowd was how quiet and attentive they remained for all of the bands. Having just come from SXSW, where everyone talks all the time, through bands they like and dislike, this was a very welcome environment.
Nathaniel Rateliff put on a very solid performance, with songs mostly from his upcoming record, In Memory of Loss. The band played a full set of strong music, including "Early Spring Till" and "Brakeman," and my personal favorite, "Shroud." I am utterly baffled that "Shroud" does not appear to be on the upcoming album, so I honestly don't know if they are saving it for a later release or if some other factor is behind this. You can still find the song for free on their Daytrotter session, or just the single song for download here (scroll down to mid-page), or you can watch a video of it below. More on the album, etc. at a later date though.
As for the Low Anthem, I went in with little previous knowledge of them and few expectations, but came away fairly impressed. I don't know that they would explicitly characterize themselves as a concept band, but they go great lengths to capture a sound of times past, with very heavy influences from early folk music such as Jimmie Rodgers and Woody Guthrie, at least as I perceived them. The music is typically slow to moderately paced, and while this is not a band you will pump your fist to, they do well in representing a foundational piece of Americana history. The show's first openers were Ramseur Records' band Frontier Ruckus, who I found to have a good sound, and some decent potential. I don't know their catalog well, but I almost instantly give respect to artists that Ramseur supports.
No my friends, it is not too early to start talking about this year's SXSW, which will be upon us in right at 5 weeks. That's right, you're already behind if you haven't made plans yet, but lucky for you, a person doesn't really need a badge to see most bands anymore.
I'm starting out my preview for SXSW with one of Denver's great new bands, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel. This band is a side project (or maybe now main project?) of Rateliff's fairly well-known Denver band Born in the Flood. The Wheel are so new that they don't really have an official release that fully showcases the band's current sound. However, you can hear a great set of new recordings from them on their Daytrotter session. The current CD available from the band is good, but doesn't have the full sound that you can expect if you hear them at SXSW.
The Wheel hasn't officially announced any specific SXSW dates or times, but they have SXSW on their Web site as TBA, so I expect they'll be playing a Rounder Records showcase and a few other parties such as the Mile Hi Fidelity day party.
Update - Shows posted (subject to change like any other SXSW shows):
Wed., 3/17 - Lamberts (C3 Party) - 2:40 PM Wed., 3/17 - The Ale House (official SXSW showcase) - 7 PM Thur., 3/18 - Hotel San Jose (High Road Touring party) - 2 PM Fri., 3/19 - Habana Calle 6 (Mile Hi Fidelity party) - 1:40 PM
Note: Be sure to check ahead of time on whether you need a badge, etc., for entry into shows.
This is a really cool video of Nathaniel Rateliff playing the song "Shroud" solo acoustic, and was done by Rod Blackhurst and James Minchin, who have been doing a series of field recordings in the style of Alan Lomax. In addition to their individual Web sites, they should have a full site up and running for the project soon. Also you can check out Rod's vimeo site for more of their videos. But check out this video first. Seriously.
(Note: For various video permissions reasons, this video will only play on this blog (or at the vimeo link), but not in Google reader or other RSS feeds).
Not much to post lately: although good things are on the way.
Check out Denver's own Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel: on their recent Daytrotter session. These are probably the best recordings to date from the band, as their only record was recorded before the band was in its current formation.
Saw Invictus last night: Great story. Good movie. Lots of rugby action, if you're in to that sort of thing. Still well worthwhile to watch even if you're not. However, no big surprises either.
Austin favorites Monahans: have just reissued their out-of-pring debut record Low Pining for the first time on vinyl. Doesn't seem to be available online at this time though.
Also, I just saw Monahans tweeted: "New Doug Burr songs kill!!!!" - Makes me even more anxious to hear that new record.
Not sure why I like this picture so much. Guess it just reminds me of my childhood:
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