Tearing at the Seams

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]

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

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

Tearing at the Seams track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shoe Boot"	Nathaniel Rateliff Mark Shusterman	4:43
2.	"Be There"	Patrick Meese Nathaniel Rateliff	3:39
3.	"A Little Honey"	Nathaniel Rateliff	3:10
4.	"Say It Louder"	Nathaniel Rateliff	3:23
5.	"Hey Mama"	Nathaniel Rateliff	4:00
6.	"Babe I Know" (featuring Lucius)	Nathaniel Rateliff	3:04
7.	"Intro"	Nathaniel Rateliff	4:19
8.	"Coolin' Out" (featuring Lucius)	Nathaniel Rateliff	4:01
9.	"Baby I Lost My Way, (But I'm Going Home)"	Nathaniel Rateliff	2:55
10.	"You Worry Me"	Nathaniel Rateliff Luke Mossman	3:34
11.	"Still Out There Running"	Nathaniel Rateliff	4:53
12.	"Tearing at the Seams"	Nathaniel Rateliff	5:13

iTunes Deluxe version ^[17]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"I'll Be Damned"	2:41
14.	"Boiled Over"	2:30

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for Tearing at the Seams Chart (2018) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 47 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [20] 64 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [21] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [22] 78 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23] 90 Scottish Albums (OCC) [24] 13 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [25] 34 UK Albums (OCC) [26] 33 UK Americana Albums (OCC) [27] 1 US Billboard 200 [28] 11 US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [29] 6 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [30] 5 US Americana/Folk Albums (Billboard) [31] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [32] 4 US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) [33] 5

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Tearing at the Seams Chart (2018) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [34] 79 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [35] 88

Certifications

Certifications for Tearing at the Seams

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [36]	Gold	40,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Musicians Nathaniel Rateliff – vocals, guitar Jeff Dazey – saxophone Andreas Wild – saxophone, vocals Jess Wolfe – backing vocals Mark Shusterman – vocals, piano Luke Mossman – guitar Joseph Pope III – bass Scott Frock – flugelhorn Holly Laessig – backing vocals Patrick Meese – bass, drums, engineer

Production Richard Swift – engineer, producer, vocals Christopher Colbert – mastering Jamie Mefford – engineer, producer Rett Rogers – photography

References

1. "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
2. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
3. "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
4. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
5. Kuscher, Oliver (March 5, 2018). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats return one more time, with feeling". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
6. Clarke, Helen (March 9, 2018). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
7. Danton, Eric (March 9, 2018). "Paste Magazine Review". Paste . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
8. Thiessen, Christopher (March 9, 2018). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Bests Their Debut with 'Tearing at the Seams'". PopMatters . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
9. Schatz, Lake (January 11, 2018). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats announce new album, Tearing at the Seams". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
10. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
11. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
12. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
13. "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - A Little Honey". YouTube . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
14. Pedrosa, Marina (September 7, 2018). "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Get Nostalgic with 'A Little Honey' On 'Kimmel'". Billboard . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
15. Gage, Jeff (May 9, 2018). "See Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats Salute Mothers in 'Hey Mama' Video". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
16. Arrieta, Vincent (June 23, 2022). "Ahead of Artpark concert, Nathaniel Rateliff breaks down 'Babe I Know,' recalls Richard Swift". The Buffalo News . Retrieved June 23, 2022.
17. "Tearing at the Seams (Deluxe Edition) by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats". Apple Music . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
18. "Australiancharts.com – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
19. "Ultratop.be – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
20. "Ultratop.be – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
21. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
24. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
27. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
28. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
29. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
30. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
31. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
32. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
33. "Nathaniel Rateliff Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
34. "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
35. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
36. "Canadian album certifications – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Tearing at the Seams". Music Canada . Retrieved February 28, 2024.