NEEDTOBREATHE

After ACL most chatter I was hearing was either about the Chili Peppers, Crystal Castles, or NEEDTOBREATHE.  I dismissed this as just talk and went about continuing with my old musical ways.  In hindsight, this was a major mistake.  NEEDTOBREATHE is definitely not just "talk," but an outstanding compilation of rock, soul, and alternative music.  Lead singer, Bear Bryant, named after the lovely man who coached at one of my favorite universities...Alabama.  Regardless, he is an amazing singer, his soulful and rough yet extremely smooth voice really make the band what it is.  

With songs like "Oohs and Ahhs" off of their latest album, The Reckoning, the slow and almost somber tempo really accentuates the melodic genius that occurs in the song.  Not only does it have great vocals but also great lyrics: 

"We got oohs, we got ahhs

We got everything a man could need

We got oohs, we got ahhs

Still got a mountain full of mouths to feed

Tear the ocean and the skies apart

Circle up the wagons underneath the stars

Watch us spin around like a meteorite

It goes down and down and down

Cause in our hearts we know it's true..." (chorus)

and a pretty amazing trumpet feature towards the end of the song.  

Another really great song is entitled: "Washed by the Water," yet what's even better than the original (in my opinion) is the acoustic version off of their second album: The Heat.  Usually I don't really care for acoustic versions of songs mainly because I feel like they are lacking something instrument wise, but this is simply not the case for this song.  Because there isn't as much of a melodic influence from the electric instruments, the vocals are much more apparent.

All in all, this band is really quite amazing.  With both their amazing style of singing to their true talent for song writing, this band really does have it all.

-Brooks Gonzales