Most people these days probably know Nathaniel Rateliff best as an acclaimed singer-songwriter with an album out on Rounder Records who's toured and shared bills locally with Mumford & Sons. Before he embarked on a successful solo career, though, he used to front a band called Born in the Flood, one of the most heralded and popular local acts of the previous decade. The band's anthemic, stirring music was often compared to that of Coldplay or Radiohead, without ever really sounding like either — although Born in the Flood's expansive rock sound did explore similar emotional terrain. The band put out a small number of strong releases before taking a hiatus, while Rateliff focused on his then-solo project, the Wheel, which later evolved into his full-time endeavor. For his seventh annual holiday show, next Friday, December 21, at the Gothic Theatre, Rateliff, along with Joseph Pope, has reconvened the group, and the two will give fans a rare chance to see their soulfully cathartic band in action again, along with Nathan & Stephen and In the Whale.