''Caves'' (stylized as CAVES) is the ninth studio album from American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...

. It was released on September 15, 2023, by Drive All Night Records. The album features collaborations with

Carly Pearce Carly Pearce (born Carly Cristyne Slusser; April 24, 1990) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her material contains elements of both traditional and contemporary country-pop music. Pearce began performing professionally in her ...

Judah & the Lion Judah & the Lion are an American rock and roll band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2011. They have released five studio albums and five EPs. Currently the band consists of Judah Akers (vocals, guitar) and Brian Macdonald (mandolin, vocals). ...

, Old Dominion, and

Foy Vance Foy Best Vance (born 18 November 1974) is an Irish musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, signed to Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man Records, Gingerbread Man record label. Vance has toured as a support act to British singer-songwrite ...

. It was produced by Cason Cooley and Needtobreathe.

Background

Needtobreathe first announced the album in May 2023. Five singles were subsequently released to precede the album, including "Everknown", "The Cave", "Hideaway", "Temporary Tears", and "Wasting Time". The band retreated to Utah and Minnesota while creating the album. Lead singer Bear Rinehart described the album to ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' as, "It feels like it's a band record" and "Not many people are making band records anymore. We all to have an influence on the record musically and lyrically and it feels like it's all our voices at the same time."

Composition

The album was written in two different phases in 2022. The band wrote the opening title track in a hotel room just using an "acoustic guitar and midi keyboard". "How Wonderful We Are", the third song, is a piano ballad song second song Everknown was used in a tribute package for WWE Superstar

Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...

, who had passed away from Heart Attack on August 24th 2023 at 36. It was used in Wyatt tribute package on the August 25th, 2023 episode of

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

. The tenth track "Reaching Out to Find You", is described as a "soaring piano ballad".

Promotion

Coinciding with the album announcement, Needtobreathe announced "The Caves World Tour", to begin in late 2023. The tour will feature

as a supporting act, and includes stops at arenas throughout the US. A second leg of the tour was announced on the album release day, September 15, 2023. A two-part documentary titled "A World Without a Mirror: The Making of ''Caves''" was released on YouTube, chronicling the album writing and recording process.

Critical reception

Bryget Chrisfield of ''

The Music The Music was an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the releas ...

'' gave ''Caves'' four stars, and said that the album "is a collection of instantly catchy, life-affirming rock songs for marking pivotal life events." ''The Christian Beat''s Jessie Clarks called ''Caves'', "a collection of awe-inspiring melodies, breathtaking instrumentation and epic-scale energy, giving the band's soul-probing approach a bigger, more expansive new scope."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Needtobreathe 2023 albums Albums produced by Cason Cooley Needtobreathe albums