Caves (album)

Needtobreathe first announced the album in May 2023.[2] Five singles were subsequently released to precede the album, including "Everknown", "The Cave", "Hideaway", "Temporary Tears", and "Wasting Time". The band retreated to Utah and Minnesota while creating the album.[3] Lead singer Bear Rinehart described the album to American Songwriter as, "It feels like it's a band record" and "Not many people are making band records anymore. We all to have an influence on the record musically and lyrically and it feels like it's all our voices at the same time."[4]

The album was written in two different phases in 2022.[4][5] They wrote the opening title track in a hotel room just using a "acoustic guitar and midi keyboard". "How Wonderful We Are", the third song, is a piano ballad.[6]

The tenth track "Reaching Out to Find You", is described as a "soaring piano ballad".[4]

Coinciding with the album announcement, Needtobreathe announced "The Caves World Tour", to being in late 2023.[5] The tour will feature Judah & the Lion as a supporting act, and includes stops at arenas throughout the US. A second leg of the tour was announced on the album release day, September 15, 2023.[7] A two-part documentary titled "A World Without a Mirror: The Making of Caves" was released on YouTube, chronicling the album writing and recording process.[8]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Music	[6]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[1]

Bryget Chrisfield of The Music gave Caves four stars, and said that the album "is a collection of instantly catchy, life-affirming rock songs for marking pivotal life events."[6] The Christian Beat's Jessie Clarks called Caves, "a collection of awe-inspiring melodies, breathtaking instrumentation and epic-scale energy, giving the band's soul-probing approach a bigger, more expansive new scope."[9]