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NEEDTOBREATHE’s debut Atlantic album “Daylight” was an okay release. There were several outstanding moments on the album, but ultimately what it suffered from was being a little too polished. Some of the songs were written with an amazing amount of heart, but when they were translated onto the album the production made them a little cold. With the band’s second album for Atlantic- “The Heat” that big problem has been fixed and what you get with the new album is an hour of some of the warmest, heart-felt arena rock around. That big arena rock sound is NEEDTOBREATHE’s strength. It’s loud and it’s bright, but there’s still a certain amount of roughness around the edges of the sound that makes the band extremely compelling. Frontman Bear Reinhart’s voice has some coarseness to it when he really dives back into himself and the way the band records the drums of Joe Stillwell adds to that roughness. The guitars shine, the vocals and percussion come to the forefront over those guitars, and that’s what NEEDTOBREATHE’s sound so good. As for the songs on “The Heat” this set is much better than daylight. All of these songs are outstanding and they all flow and move perfectly. Some of the highlights include the actual opening song “Restless”, the ballad “Return”, the title track “The Heat”, “Streets of Gold”, the arena-friendly “We Could Run Away”, and the single and the Daylightesque “Signature of Divine.” This is an album to pick up for fans of arena rock and fans of good music. Not a lot of bands can make this type of album and pull it off seamlessly, this is an album that everyone should listen to, it’s full of shutter moments and catchy choruses. Check this one out.