The COVID lockdowns allowed NEEDTOBREATHE vocalist Bear Rinehart to take a few more breaths and revive his side project Wilder Woods. His boys' first names, Wilder and Woods, served as the inspiration for the band's debut record.
Wilder Woods' debut album was a low-key, soulful affair, typical of frontmen who go solo and far different from the stadium rock gestures that made NEEDTOBREATHE enormous venue headliners. Rinehart replaces most of the members of the previous lineup for the album's follow-up while maintaining Tyler Burkum, the guitarist for Breathes and using Breathe's engineer Cason Cooley to handle the mixing.
It may come as no surprise that the sound is more similar to Rinehart's regular act, yet still being unique from it. There are still soulful moments, particularly in the opener "Maestro (Tears Don't Lie)" with its Motown stomp that seems like it was left over from the previous set and the percussion-heavy pop song "Criminal." But unlike the personal moments that peppered the last record, these choruses are often bigger and more sing-along friendly.
These fascinating original songs are performed by Rinehart, whose voice is strong and recognizable, particularly when working a stripped-down, pop-worthy beat like the catchy "Get It Back." The songs are also catchy when they veer towards the Curtis Mayfield-influenced, R&B-tinged "Death of Me" or lean into a rural mood like the gospel-inspired "Heartland," where the vocalist longs to go back to howling at the moonlight while sleeping beneath the night sky..

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