This US rock band can trace its formation to 2002 when Bear Rinehart (guitar/vocals) and Joe Stilwell (drums) began jamming together while they were studying at Furman University in South Carolina. Joined by Bear’s brother Bo Rinehart (guitar) and recording engineer Seth Bolt (bass), they named their new band Needtobreathe and began recording sessions at Bolt’s studio. A series of independent EPs and an extensive gigging schedule helped propel the quartet into the music industry radar, and in 2005 they signed a major label contract with the Atlantic Records subsidiary Lava. Their 2006 album debut, Daylight, was a melodic modern rock record with echoes of U2 and Train, with Rinehart’s Christian faith informing the spiritually-inclined lyrics. The single, ‘Shine On’, was an obvious highlight and helped earn the band mainstream radio play and prominent slots on soundtracks to influential television shows such as Laguna Beach and The Evidence.
The quickly recorded 2007 follow-up, The Heat, saw the quartet attempting to broaden their horizons to mixed effect, with the album working best on anthemic rockers such as the single ‘Signature Of Divine (Yahweh)’.
