The Future [Limited Black Ice]

The latest album is full of well-turned retro moves and reaches for a deeper meaning.

Rateliff’s ability to go from conversational coffeehouse mutter to roadhouse bluster has a similar dynamic command, and it makes the music feel urgent even when his lyrics don’t rise above well-intentioned bromides. That mix of Sixties groove workouts and Seventies singer-songwriter truth-seeking pays off on their third album, The Future. 

“Gotta sing a lot of soul to know how to feel it,” he offers on “Something Ain’t Right,” an ode to the cathartic power of making music.

That’s a good theme for this band, who sound inspired even when they’re merely channeling influences. The Night Sweats often suggest a more wide-open, somewhat jam-band-y Rocky Mountain version of the Dap-Kings’ funk-soul attack, and you can imagine The Future appealing equally to fans of Dave Matthews and Amy Winehouse.