A Sound Analysis Of Rivers In The Wasteland

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If you’re looking for a soulful mix of country and rock and roll then NEEDTOBREATHE’S newest album, Rivers in the Wasteland, is the perfect combination. After a three-year hiatus from NEEDTOBREATHE’S last album, The Reckoning, fans were starting to wonder if the band was done, especially after the loss of their long-time drummer Joe Stillwell. Nevertheless, NEEDTOBREATHE promised their fans another album. Rivers in the Wasteland starts off with a slow, rumbling song, “Wasteland.” This is an unusually opening considering NEEDTOBREATHE’S previous albums all start with a loud, bolstering rock and roll feel song. So, “Wasteland” was an immediate sound change for the audience with it being a slow acoustic ballad. While some fans were disappointed with the new approach, I personally found the song to be appealing. I enjoyed the simple sound of the acoustic guitar strumming in the background with Bear Rinehart’s unique voice singing over. “Wasteland” is one of the more obvious country sounding songs of the album. Although, NEEDTOBREATHE does add some rock and roll elements in during the second round of the chorus with a pounding baseline in the drums, accenting on the second beat similar to the style of a backbeat. This brings me to the analysis of the type of genre NEEDTOBREATHE fits into. After reading some different reviews on …show more content…

“Rise Again” sounds more country with the use of the tambourine, bongos, and acoustic guitar. This time the stereotypical country instruments provide the rock and roll elements. For instance, the tambourine provides the backbeat for the song which is again typical of rock and roll. There is also an instrumental solo with the bongos, guitar, and tambourine. This is similar to rock and roll but instead of the electric guitar there is a solo of the mix of instruments. All this shows how NEEDTOBREATHE’S songs employ the use of country and rock and roll in their