[Cover photo credit to JM Collective]

Wilder Woods, the moniker of singer/songwriter/guitarist Bear Rinehart of Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling group Needtobreathe, has announced the forthcoming release of his new album Curioso. Due out in early 2025 through Dualtone Records, Curioso takes a genre-bending approach to American music.

Rinehart has also shared a first look at the album with a pair of new singles: “Hide Anymore” and “Devil In My Eyes.”

Rinehart says:

Happy to have the first couple of songs from Curioso out in the world. Both of these songs are really about the tension I think we all feel between the way we wish the world was and the way it actually is. Maybe it’s naïve to think that music can actually help with that, but it does for me. Love y’all.

The title for the new album comes from the youthful time that Rinehart spent at his grandmother’s house, captivated by her curio cabinet.

He shares:

It was a china cabinet where she’d store her keepsakes, like her first Bible, some porcelain dolls, and football memorabilia. As a kid, I always thought it was a strange thing to keep around…but now, I think a curio cabinet can tell you a lot about a person. I love the idea of collecting the pieces of your past, creating a little assortment of things that you really enjoy.

Songwriting sessions for Curioso began in 2023 on the heels of his sophomore effort FEVER/SKY. Rinehart also teamed up with partners like Producer Jeremy Lutito and co-writers Konrad Snyder, Trent Dabbs, Ian Fitchuk, Anderson East, and Foy Vance. They wrote and recorded Curioso’s songs in small batches between Rinehart’s tour dates.

Rinehart sets up Curioso to be “his own curio cabinet” with “a curated collection of the influences and experiences that have shaped him as a musician, placed on public display for the whole world to hear.”