Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats preview new album with ‘You Worry Me’

Modern-day soul man Nathaniel Rateliff and his band the Night Sweats have released the first salvo from their forthcoming sophomore album, “Tearing at the Seams,” a new rock-R&B-soul track titled “You Worry Me.”

It’s the follow-up to the group’s 2015 debut, an album Rateliff made as a last-ditch effort before throwing in the towel on his music career, only to see it go viral and turn into a runaway hit.

“You Worry Me” is built on an insistent, swaggering pulse, and powered by echo-heavy guitars and throbbing bass and drums, with horns joining midway through as Rateliff sings a message of support and encouragement to someone who appears to be losing faith.

The lyric video premiered Thursday and can be seen here.

×

Although sharing a kinship with the vintage soul-R&B sound of “Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats,” the group’s leader notes that the new album emerged through a very different creative process.

“For the first record I demo’ed everything up and created most of the parts,” the Arkansas-reared, Denver-based singer, songwriter and guitarist said in a statement.

“This time, I felt like we’ve all spent so much time on the road that we should all go off somewhere together. We should all have that experience together.

“I want — and I need — everybody to feel like they’re a part of this band,” he said. “I want them to feel like they’re contributing artistically and emotionally to the experience of writing and creating this music. We’ve all had to make sacrifices to be in the Night Sweats, and I want them all to know that it’s worth something.”

The album is due march 9 and will be released on the revitalized Stax Records label in a 12-track standard edition and 14-track deluxe version, in digital, CD and vinyl LP.

randy.lewis@latimes.com

Follow @RandyLewis2 on Twitter.com

For Classic Rock coverage, join us on Facebook