Needtobreathe HARDLOVE

Needtobreathe's sixth studio album, Hard Love, is a concerted pop effort, an arrow aimed at the mainstream bullseye. Since their debut in 2006, the Carolina quartet's journey from wide-eyed CCM-lite rock band into full-fledged powerhouse has seen them -- at different points -- tread the paths worn by Coldplay, U2, John Mayer, and Mumford and Sons. On Hard Love, they fully grasp the Kings of Leon influence that has always bubbled beneath the surface and splice it with Ryan Tedder's songcraft, making their best record since 2011's The Reckoning. For the old-school CCM fans, there are still hints of devotion subtly woven into the lyrics, but overall, this is a 12-song collection to please everyone. The sheen and polish of their evolved sound is immediately evident on album-opener "Mountain, Pt.1," a haunting Auto-Tuned intro that recalls Bon Iver's work with Kanye West. The guys don't hold back from there, pounding away on the title track, which bleeds with urgency and deft production. Mu