Following the summer 2016 release of their sixth album,
Hard Love
, South Carolina's
Needtobreathe
extended that effort's promotion with 2018's Forever on Your Side tour. To coincide with the trek, the quartet issued the four-track
Forever on Your Side
EP, recorded with Texan production trio
Niles City Sound
. On this quick play, their sun-washed
Kings of Leon
-meets-
John Mayer
sound bleeds through on the smoky "Bullets" and the swelling "Bridges Burn," while the contemplative "Darling" is a tender, yearning moment of restraint in an otherwise upbeat set aimed at injecting their live set with new blood.
Forever
closes with its title track, an uplifting duet with tourmates
Johnnyswim
, whose husband-wife duo of
Amanda Sudano
and
Abner Ramirez
provide harmonic backing vocals. Unlike the mainstream-friendly, pop-polished
,
is a straightforward, rocking gift to both whet concertgoers' palates and tide fans over until the full-length follow-up. ~ Neil Z. Yeung