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Hard Love
Studio album by Needtobreathe
Released	July 15, 2016
Studio	Plantation Studios, Charleston, South Carolina Night Fox Studio, New York City Germano Studios, New York City
Genre	Alternative rock Christian rock Southern rock country rock pop rock
Length	40:14
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Dave Tozer Ed Cash Jon Levine Ido Zmishlany
Needtobreathe chronology
Live from the Woods at Fontanel (2015) Hard Love (2016) Forever on Your Side (Niles City Sound Sessions) (2018)

Hard Love (styled H A R D L O V E) is the sixth studio album by American rock and alternative band Needtobreathe, released on July 15, 2016, through Atlantic Records.

Hard Love garnered three singles including "Happiness", "Testify", and "Great Night".

Background and recording

Hard Love was produced by Dave Tozer, Ed Cash, Jon Levine, Ido Zmishlany and co-produced by the band. The album was recorded at Plantation Studios in Charleston, South Carolina, Night Fox Studio and Germano Studios in New York, NY.

Promotion

In support of the album, the band went on a "Tour De Compadres 2016" that began on August 17, 2016, and concluded on November 12, 2016. The tour included 53 stops across the United States.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Jesus Freak Hideout
Music-News.com
The Musical Melting Pot	92%
Substream Magazine
TheChristianBeat.org	4.4/5

Hard Love received mostly positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung rated the album four out of five stars and calls it "cleverly crafted praise music." Chris Major of TheChristianBeat.org rated the album 4.4 out of 5 and writes, "(the album) packs both energy and encouragement into its forty minute runtime. With diverse sounds and deep thought poured into each song, NEEDTOBREATHE does not hold back has outdone itself once again. H A R D L O V E is easily worth a full listen-through from both fans and new audiences." Jesus Freak Hideout's Christopher Smith rated the album three and a half stars out of five and calls it "a solid record."

Awards and accolades

On August 9, 2017, it was announced that H A R D L O V E would be nominated for a GMA Dove Award in the Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year category at the 48th Annual GMA Dove Awards.

On October 17, 2017, H A R D L O V E won the GMA Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year with Kari Jobe alongside art producers Jon Levine, Dave Tozer, Ed Cash and Ido Zmishalny being the receipts at a ceremony at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Commercial performance

Hard Love debuted at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart and at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, moving 50,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, of which 46,000 were in traditional album sales. This is the band's highest charting album to date, besting the No. 3 Billboard 200 debut of their 2014 release Rivers in the Wasteland.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bear Rinehart and Bo Rinehart, except where noted

Personnel

Credits for Hard Love adapted from album liner notes.

Needtobreathe

• Bear Rinehart – vocals, synthesizers, guitars, slide guitar, ukulele
• Bo Rinehart – synthesizers, programming, guitars, mandola, backing vocals
• Josh Lovelace – acoustic piano, organ, synthesizers, backing vocals
• Seth Bolt – synthesizers, bass guitar, drum programming, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Jon Levine – additional keyboards (2), drum programming (2)
• Dave Tozer – acoustic piano (3), organ (3, 4, 7), programming (3, 7), guitars (3, 4, 10), bass guitar (3), handclaps (3, 4), synthesizers (4, 10), drum programming (4, 10), tambourine (4), finger snaps (4), stomps (4), backing vocals (7), synth bass (10)
• Chris Connors – programming (3), synthesizers (4, 10), drum programming (4, 10), organ (10)
• Rodrick Simmons – organ (5), keyboards (6)
• Ido Zmishlany – keyboards (6), programming (6), guitars (6), backing vocals (6)
• Roger Cliche – organ (6)
• Sam Getz – guitars (7), additional guitars (9)
• John Murchison – upright bass (4)
• Pete Donnelly – bass (7)
• Dylan Wissing – drums (3, 7)
• Will Chapman – drums (8), programming (8)
• Colin Callahan – handclaps (3)
• Matt Schenck – handclaps (3)
• Tomás Shannon – handclaps (3)
• Randall Harris – handclaps (4), finger snaps (4), stomps (4)
• Hayden Lamb – handclaps (7), backing vocals (7)
• Simon Harding – saxophone (2, 3), saxophone solo (3)
• Steve Tirpak – trombone (3), trumpet (3)
• Chuck Dalton – trumpet (2, 3)
• Clayton Bryant – backing vocals (3, 4, 10)
• Carla Kelly – backing vocals (3, 10)
• Carmen Roman – backing vocals (3, 10)
• Darnell White – backing vocals (3, 4)
• Michael Trent – vocals (7)
• Cary Ann Hearst – vocals (7)
• Randall Harris – backing vocals (7), drums (9)
• Ebony Johnson – backing vocals (10)

Technical

• Seth Bolt – engineer (1-5, 7-12), additional engineer (6)
• Bo Rinehart – engineer (2, 11, 12)
• Chris Connors – engineer (3, 4, 7, 10)
• Dave Tozer – engineer (3, 4, 7, 10)
• Ido Zmishlany – engineer (6)
• Ed Cash – engineer (11, 12)
• Randall Harris – assistant engineer (1-5, 7, 8, 10)
• Matt Schenck – assistant engineer (3, 7, 10)
• Mikey Reaves – assistant engineer (4, 5, 10)
• Michael Trent – additional engineer (7)
• Robert Orton – mixing
• Dave Kutch – mastering at The Mastering Place (New York, NY)
• Pete Ganbarg - A&R

Design and Additional Credits

• Mikey Reaves – additional vocal production (2)
• Eric Hurtgen – creative direction, cover design
• Bo Rinehart – creative direction, cover design
• Joshua Drake – cover photography
• Eric Ryan Anderson – additional photography
• Steve Bursky – management

Charts

Release history

References

1. ^ Clarks, Jessie (July 2, 2016). "NEEDTOBREATHE Releases New Song "HARD LOVE"". TheCristianBeat.org. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
2. ^ Polanco, Luis (April 1, 2016). "NEEDTOBREATHE Announces Sixth Studio Album & U.S. Tour Dates: Exclusive". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
3. Yeung, Neil Z. "Hard Love – Needtobreathe : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
4. ^ Smith, Christopher (June 23, 2016). "NEEDTOBREATHE, "H A R D L O V E" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
5. Spencer, David (July 12, 2016). "Hard Love Review". Music-News.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
6. Leon (July 12, 2016). "Needtobreathe – 'Hard Love' [Review]". themusicalmeltingpot.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
7. Shotwell, James (July 15, 2016). "NEEDTOBREATHE find success through experimentation on 'Hard Love'". Substream Magazine. Jason McMahon. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
8. ^ Major, Chris (July 5, 2016). "NEEDTOBREATHE'S "H A R D L O V E" Refuses To Hold Back". TheCristianBeat.org. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
9. "2017 Nominees | The 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards". GMA Dove Awards. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
10. "2017 Winners | The 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards". GMA Dove Awards. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
11. "Drake's 'Views' No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart for 11th Week, NeedToBreathe Debuts at No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
12. Caulfield, Keith (July 20, 2016). "NeedToBreathe Heading for Highest-Charting Album Ever on Billboard 200 With 'Hard Love'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
13. "H A R D L O V E by NEEDTOBREATHE on iTunes". United States: iTunes Store. 15 July 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
14. BMI Repertoire Search for NEEDTOBREATHE
15. "Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® Announces Spotlight Music Partner NEEDTOBREATHE's New Album "H A R D L O V E" with Two Exclusive Tracks". PR Newswire. July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
16. "Australiancharts.com – Needtobreathe – Hard Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
17. "Needtobreathe Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
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21. Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 23 July 2016 (wk29)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
22. "Drake's 'Views' No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart for 11th Week, NeedToBreathe Debuts at No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
23. "Needtobreathe Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
24. "Needtobreathe Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
25. "Needtobreathe Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
26. "Needtobreathe Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
27. "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
28. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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30. "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
31. "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
32. "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.

• Needtobreathe albums
• 2016 albums
• Atlantic Records albums