Multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated rock band NEEDTOBREATHE released their ninth studio album, CAVES, on September 15, featuring collaborations with Carly Pearce, Old Dominion, Judah & The Lion, and Foy Vance. The 11-track project is an introspective fusion of their rock, soul, and pop influences that have exploded into arena-ready anthems, matching the energy of their more than 20-year history of packing venues of die-hard fans.
NEEDTOBREATHE spoke with Music Mayhem and other media about the journey of creating CAVES, the stories behind their all-star collaborations, and what fans can expect from their headlining tour this fall.
Inside The Making Of CAVES
Not knowing where it would eventually lead, the band headed to Utah for a musical retreat.
“We thought we were making demos for an album and it just turned out a lot better than we thought,” says lead singer Bear Rinehart. “I think the beauty of it for us getting away is that we started as a band in a band and playing songs in our garage. You’re around each other all the time and we miss that now. We all have families and we kind of go separate ways.”
Having a literal base camp to create this album was key to the success of this “ambitious” project.
“We go in there and make music all day long and then we watch the same movies at night, that kind of thing. We just found that that’s incredibly important. With the band thing, we really believe the band is only as good as all the parts.” They ultimately spent a year a half creating CAVES. The making of the album was captured in a two-part documentary “A World Without A Mirror: The Making of CAVES”.
Rinehart says that they wanted to document the aspects of making a record that people don’t usually get to see.
“I think we live in a time where I’d say cheap is the new expensive, and a lot of people are making records on their laptops and whatever, which is not bad. It’s fine. But this was a different process. We felt like for the fans who were really going to fall in love with this record, to be able to go back and see how it was made and sort of the intention and how much we care about it, it was important to us.”
Story Behind The Song, “Caves”
The album’s title track is not only a reflection of the physical space where they created the album, but their mental space as well.
“Caves is a weird song,” admits Rinehart. “It’s a rock and roll style in a minor key, which is probably different for us a little bit. I think the idea was kind of like this house in Utah felt like a cave, but all these sort of experiences where we go away for a while. It seems like to me the job of an artist is to kind of live in that subconscious place a little bit more than most people. It’s like most people want those negative things or heavy things or whatever it is, you want to move on as quickly as you can. I think artists and writers, it’s our job to kind of sift through that a little bit.”
He describes the song as coming out of that space, admitting it’s the “heaviest” song on the record. They wrote it in a hotel room with just an acoustic guitar and mini keyboard after performing a show with One Republic. “So you do not want to be in a hotel room next to NEEDTOBREATHE,” joked Seth Bolt. “It’s loud.”
Carly Pearce Is Featured On “Fall On Me”
“Fall On Me” features country star Carly Pearce, who was a huge fan of the band before working with them. “The Carly thing happened very naturally,” says Rinehart. “We were like, this needs a female vocal. Who can it be? We could listen to a bunch of things. We’re like, who has the right tone for it? And Carly’s name came up and we found out that she was a big fan, which we didn’t know beforehand, so that turned out to be really easy and sweet and yeah, we’re really proud of it.”
Pearce shared a clip from recording the song on Instagram, saying “Years ago I bought a ticket and went by myself to see @needtobreathe live because I was such a fan. It is such an honor that they asked me to be on a song with them.”
“Wasted Time” With Old Dominion
One of the first songs that NEEDTOBREATHE wrote for this album was “Wasting Time,” which features Old Dominion.
“We were just trying to honestly write a rock and roll song where when we play live, we try to create moments where we can connect with the fans and also just overplay on our instruments and stuff,” says NEEDTOBREATHE’s Josh Lovelace.
After writing it, they thought it would be fun to invite someone else to the party. “We actually did an event with Old Dominion and got to talking with them and realized that we had, we kind of are cut from the same cloth in some ways.”
Judah & the Lion Was Inspired By NEEDTOBREATHE
Another collaboration on CAVES is “Dreams” featuring Judah & The Lion, who became a band because of NEEDTOBREATHE.
“He came and saw us when he was in college, 19 or something like that, and wasn’t in a band yet. He literally went home, was like, I’m going to make a band. And now when I listened back to their first couple recorders and the way they dressed and everything, it looked a lot like us. So that’s a really cool thing to find out this many years later that sort of spawned its own career in a totally different sound than us,” says Rinehart.
“Temporary Tears” With Foy Vance
Rinehart says that “Temporary Tears” with long time friend Foy Vance may be his favorite song on the record.
“I remember him just passing the guitar around and playing in the parking lot after shows. He’s, in my opinion, one of the best singers that’s working right now and writes these beautiful songs and everything he sings is soulful. So this particular song made a lot of sense. I love all the slow sad ones, and so it’s a little bit like that and it just felt like he’s going to interpret this perfectly,” Rinehart explained.
The CAVES World Tour
Kicking off October 13 in Savannah, Ga., the CAVES World Tour with special guest Judah & The Lion will make stops in arenas across the country through 2024. Tickets for the newly announced 2024 dates will go on sale beginning at 10 am local time on 9/22 at NEEDTOBREATHE.com.
The band has been rehearsing for about five months to prepare for their first headlining tour in several years.
“It’s been a while since we’ve headlined and brought all the stuff, all the screens and all that kind of stuff,” says Rinehart.
They plan to perform a good portion of CAVES on the new tour, at least seven or eight of the songs.
“It’s always interesting to us to find out what people react to on the record and we’re trying to change it up at night. We’re going to have a sort of slot in the set that rotates. So we’re going to probably end up playing all the songs on the record at some point during this tour.” Rinehart describes their tours as a “cultural” experience. “We found out it’s not necessarily the same types of music, but the same types of people are into these bands and bands that are not just about, ‘oh, they had one single and everybody’s waiting for them to play that song,’ but the kind of fans that sing from note one.”
The Secret To NEEDTOBREATHE’s Longevity
It’s no small feat for a band to endure for more than 20 years, which they attribute to respecting each other’s differences.
“I think for a long time it was like, well, we’ve got to get on the same page. Everybody’s got to believe the same things, like the same kind of music, dress the same way, all that stuff. And that doesn’t make any sense,” says Rinehart. “Everybody brings something totally different to the table. Everybody’s opinion is worth it, and everybody’s opinion leads to another one.”
CAVES Track List
1. The Cave
2. Everknown
3. How Wonderful We Are
4. Dreams (ft. Judah & The Lion)
5. When You Forgive Someone
6. Wasting Time (ft. Old Dominion)
7. Fall On Me (ft. Carly Pearce)
8. Hideaway
9. By and By
10. Reaching Out To Find You
11. Temporary Tears (ft. Foy Vance)
