Let's just say that these boys from South Carolina didn't exactly scrap their plans to conquer the world after their critically acclaimed 2006 debut. The band's sweeping, arena-friendly alternative rock returns on this ambitious follow-up. In the short year since
Daylight's release, the band's music made it onto television (The Evidence, MTV's Laguna Beach), movies (Employee of the Month), and at major sporting events (the 2006 World Series). They also toured with
Train and
Collective Soul, the latter of whose frontman
Ed Roland shares producing credits on this album with
Rick Beato (
Shinedown). Whether deliberately or not, there seems to be a distinct likeness to both of their tourmates' sounds, as
Needtobreathe combines
Train's mastery of mid-tempo adult alternative with
Collective Soul's pulsing, straightforward rock. The group dwells less in the
Coldplay/
Travis corner of the sonic universe this time, sounding more like
After Edmund and early-career Oasis. There is no runaway single like "Shine On," although first single "Signature of Divine (Yahweh)" has its share of rich, sweeping gusto. Now that the cat's out of the bag (i.e. their sound no longer commands an aura of mystery and intrigue), the boys seem to have lost just a touch of their pioneering spirit, buut that cannot distract from the album's strong, approachable rock that plays best when cranked to a "10." ~ Jared Johnson