Friday, March 23, 2012

Needtobreathe - Slumber


I love bands that don’t fit neatly into a nice little genre box. Seriously, they are the best. One minute you can be listening to an up tempo, rock out anthem and the next you’re being won over by a blues inspired, folk rock (think Mumford & Sons) ballad type masterpiece.  This is why I love Needtobreathe (no, I didn’t forget the spaces). The unique thing about this band (besides their lack of proper spacing) is that they can’t be labeled. Go ahead and try. You can’t find one genre label that perfectly describes them (although iTunes has definitely tried). They effortlessly flow from folk rock to more blues type, and even manage to throw some Christian rock in there too. Their best album (at least in my opinion) is The Outsiders, whose title track may be one of my favorite songs by them. They recently gained a lot of attention by opening for the Country Pop Princess herself, Taylor Swift. And, really, if her approval isn’t enough to convince you, I don’t know what is. Anyway, their latest album The Reckoning, doesn’t disappoint. Once again, Needtobreathe masters the surprise element, mixing up style and vocals with every new track. The breakout single, “Slumber” is amazing, not only in sound, but in lyrics. Its repetitive driving beat reinforces the main message of the song – don’t sleep your life away; go out and make something of it. The song is perfectly capped off with the main mantra, “Wake on up from your slumber/Open up your eyes.” Currently, the band is riding the stride of their success with their new tour, so definitely get out there and support them. Either way, I don’t think Needtobreathe will be disappearing any time soon. And on a related note, if anyone wants to take me to their show in D.C., I’m down with that. ;) - Lindsey

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