Needtobreathe
Not content to rest after a half year of touring their native America, Needtobreathe are gearing up for their UK release of fourth album The Reckoning on the 10th September.
Helmed by the brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart, the four-piece from South Carolina had already made a big noise with their third album The Outsiders, which scaled the Billboard top 20 in 2009. Two years later, The Reckoning affirmed their place in the mass American consciousness by debuting at #6.
And it’s not just the public that has fallen in love with them - the critics too have been raving about the band, with The New York Times declaring that The Reckoning’s songs reach 'the far seats of the arena', and USA Today acclaiming it as 'an ode to the redemptive qualities of romance and a tank full of gas'.
Needtobreathe hail from a long American musical tradition of stadium-filling hooks laced with a whole lot of heart and soul.
"We wanted to make an important record in the way that people used to make records," explains frontman Bear Rinehart of The Reckoning.
"Bands rarely have the time that allows them to create a game-changing album like Born To Run, Rumours or Damn The Torpedoes. So we said, ‘Let’s set ourselves up to do that.
"Let’s believe in the songs enough that we’re willing to take the time they need and really push ourselves’. It may sound naïve, but we still have a dream that we’re going to make a record that’s going to change everything for us."
The Reckoning certainly has changed everything for Needtobreathe. Soaring sales in their native America have been accompanied in recent months by nationwide TV appearances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! Not to mention their inclusion on the same day as Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty for Hard Rock Calling at London’s Hyde Park.
Needtobreathe play songs to salve a wounded world, to bring hope and restore faith to a humanity oppressed by economic meltdown and fearful of an uncertain future. In many ways the album is an uplifting soundtrack for troubled times, especially on tracks like new single ‘Keep Your Eyes Open ’ and ‘Drive All Night’ - recently described by USA Today as "more than just a search for a fresh start, it’s an ode to the redemptive qualities of romance and a full tank of gas."
The band recognise both their human and artistic responsibility to shine a light on the world, which they do with irresistible, inspiring melodies.
"We’ve always bought into the fact that anything worth having is going to cost you a lot," says Bear, "So I think we were prepared to lose everything.
"The Reckoning is our investigation into everything we believed to be true, and a justification for everything we still do."