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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.
You ain’t gone far enough to say
At least I tried
You ain’t worked hard enough to say
Well I’ve done mine
You ain’t run far enough to say
My legs have failed
You ain’t gone far enough
You ain’t worked hard enough
You ain’t run far enough to say
It ain’t gonna get any better
I have written these words so many times that you might as well chisel them on my headstone, but it bears repeating once again. Art comes in many forms and knows countless interpretations, but the best and most memorable moments of human expression find me when I need them. The movie, Into the Wild, found me when I was ready to close the book on my time in Oklahoma. It gave me the courage to pursue my version of the wild. To Kill a Mockingbird found me when I was finally ready to wrestle with my white privilege. Countless songs have been more than just music. They have felt more like a soundtrack to my life. They have marked profoundly important moments in time. They have marked the passing of time, the passing of loved ones, special moments I want to remember forever, places I hold dear, and people I loved deeply.
Art often says the thing I am feeling in ways I would never conceptualize. Tearing at the Seams by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats joins a pantheon of records that found me when I needed them the most.
Released in March 2018, I found myself seven months into a new life in Los Angeles. If you have ever called a new city home, you know doing so is no simple task. It filled my calendar with days where I felt like giving up and calling it quits. The energy needed to turn this into a city that felt like mine seemed too daunting. My skill-set felt mismatched. The work was arduous. My relationship was recovering from the challenges of relocation, and my new home felt foreign to me.
Then this album found me like a ship finding a lighthouse in the grayest of fog. “You ain’t run far enough to say, It ain’t gonna get any better,” became an anthem for me. Slowly, the weight on my shoulders lifted, and I found a refusal to give up. My life was in transition, but the right attitude meant I could embrace the chaos.
Holding the whole album up, from the opening song to the closing track, buried in the lyrics, were reasons to keep fighting. These served as gentle reminders that the tools to succeed were within my reach. I did precisely that.
In the end, with a little motivation, some magic, and an impressive network, I made Los Angeles a home. This album will always hold a special place in my collection for the strength it revealed and the calm it provided. For that, I will be forever grateful that it found me when it did.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
