Needtobreathe needs to work – and releases two albums in 11 months
Needtobreathe headlines First Interstate Center for the Arts on Sunday night. The Christian pop-rock band's latest album, "Into the Mystery," was released in July. (David O'Donohue)
Some recording artists spun their wheels during lockdown and others were productive. File Needtobreathe in the latter category. Needtobreathe needs to work. The Christian pop-rock band crafted and released two albums, “Out of Body,” which dropped in August 2020, and “Into the Mystery” in July.
Twenty-three new songs in an 11-month span after not releasing new music since 2016’s “Hard Love.”
“We were inspired to create,” keyboardist Josh Lovelace said while calling from Nashville. “It was a good time for us creatively. We were overdue to put out an album, and we put out two albums in a short period.”
“Out of Body” is arguably the high water mark for the Nashville-based band, which has released seven albums since its 2006 debut, “Daylight.”
Needtobreathe, which also includes vocalist-guitarist Bear Rinehart, his brother vocalist-guitarist Bo Rinehart and bassist Seth Bolt, veered from the sheen of “Hard Love.”
“Out of Body” is loaded with urgent, uplifting anthems. “Riding High,” “Hang On” and “Alive” are brimming with optimism and were released at a time when hopeful songs were so welcome.
“I think hope is still something we need,” Lovelace said. “The songs reflect where we were at the time. It was an unprecedented time, a difficult time, but we’re an optimistic band.”
The “Out of Body” material is earnest, poignant and spiritual. “We just enjoyed making both of the albums so much,” Lovelace said. “Inspiration was all over the place when we focused on what we were working on.”
“Into the Mystery” is a different animal. The album was released in conjunction with a documentary with the same title. The material, beautiful harmony-drenched songs, is some of Bear Rinehart’s finest and most moving work. Cuts like “I Am Yours” and “Give Me a Chance” are soulful, warm and rousing.
“I like the contrast between the two albums,” Lovelace said.
Expect a healthy dose of new tunes when Needtobreathe performs Sunday at First Interstate Center for the Arts.
“As much as we enjoyed working on the albums during lockdown, we missed performing,” Lovelace said. “But now we can go out and play what we just created, and we’re so excited about the new songs. We can also go back into our catalog. It’s a great time for us.”