Needtobreathe arrives in Pompano Beach this weekend on a sharply rising trajectory that cuts through a lot of preconceived thinking about what a popular touring rock band can be.

The South Carolina-based quartet’s nationwide Tour de Compadres supports one of the top-selling albums of the summer, “Hard Love,” which debuted in July at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, just behind Drake’s “Views.” The Atlantic Records release also sat at No. 1 on Billboard’s sales charts for rock albums and alternative albums.

Best known for the mountain-bred, acoustic-driven soulfulness illustrated on the Grammy-nominated 2014 album “Rivers in the Wasteland” and the Gavin DeGraw-aided single “Brother,” Needtobreathe came to “Hard Love” with new ideas, for the first time employing synthesizers and drum machines to create a larger sound filled with arena-rocking ambition.

The tour stopping at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Friday night is an eye-popping manifestation of those objectives, with about twice the budget spent on sound and lights as on previous tours. With caravans of hardcore fans trailing the tour, sellouts have been routine, including a recent show in front of nearly 10,000 at Colorado’s fabled Red Rocks Amphitheatre that band members describe with particular awe.

A measure of validation of their success came in August with Needtobreathe’s first profile in Rolling Stone magazine after nearly 15 years making music. Why did it take so long? An explanation came from the magazine writer matter-of-factly, and tinged with embarrassment.

“He was, like, ‘You know, we’ve passed over your band [for an interview] several times because you were a Christian band,” bass player Seth Bolt says.

Parental advisory

Needtobreathe is led by the brothers Rinehart of Possum Kingdom, S.C., whose Assembly of God pastor father was devoted to the Lord and Alabama football, naming his boys Bear and Bryant (who goes by Bo), and whose mother was a piano teacher. The Rineharts and their friend Bolt were brought up with a short playlist.

“We were the kids in the Christian book store listening to every record possible, just trying to find something that, you know, inspired us. But it’s such a small, niche market,” Bolt says on the phone from his home in Charleston. “Our parents just said, ‘Hey, if you don’t like this music, make your own.’ “

The boys were not without secular interests. Bear became a two-time All-Southern Conference wide receiver at Furman University, where Bo studied architecture. Bolt, who still has a copy of Bass Player magazine he had autographed as a 14-year-old by Victor Wooten, studied recording-studio engineering at Full Sail University.

All the while, they were making music brimming with joy and idealism. That this music found a home on Christian radio and in Christian book stores was part of the plan, and still is. But that’s not all there is to Needtobreathe, Bolt says.

“The way we’re even in the Christian market is that we have a passion for kids that grew up like we did and maybe have limited options. We wanted to make sure that they could get our music,” he says. “But it is troubling that oftentimes the word ‘Christian’ precedes our music, because I don’t think that’s the most accurate singular descriptor of the band. And, unfortunately, religion can be a very divisive thing. Music is what brings us all together, and that’s what we stand for. We want everyone to listen to it without some sort of bias before they even push play.”

Their other boss

The music on “Hard Love” is uplifting in the way great rock ‘n’ roll and R&B is, rather than overtly religious. It is spiritual in the manner of Aretha Franklin and aspirational in the style of U2.

Rock and pop-music fans congregate under a big tent, Bolt says.

“One of our heroes is Bruce Springsteen, and we always try to take notes from him. He’ll usually put one song about faith, a spiritual experience, on a record, and we really like that, because it always came across as very honest, very genuine, very real. And we’ve always tried to treat the subject of faith with great reverence,” Bolt says.

The gospel-fueled soul-searching of “Happiness,” the brassy Motown of “Money and Fame” and the delicate sorrow of “No Excuses” show off the band’s versatility on “Hard Love.” The song “Great Night,” a collaboration with Charleston duo Shovels & Rope, is a blistering rock anthem about rule breaking and getting crazy on the dance floor.

Bolt says the introduction of synthesizers and other modern flourishes is consistent with the experimentation the band has been toying with from the beginning. He cites the song “Knew It All” from the band’s 2006 album “Daylight” as distinguished by some tortured guitar.

“We’d mess with ’em and make ’em weird. We’d hook up a bunch of guitar pedals that weren’t supposed to go together, and the next thing you know, we’d have some kind of analog, tape-delay guitar thing just swirling around,” Bolt says. “Sonically, those kind of garage-band-type moments are the roots, the genesis of the band.”

Bolt says the key to Needtobreathe’s ability to explore different sounds begins with the power and range of vocalist Bear Rinehart.

“He has one of the best voices in rock ‘n’ roll right now. I don’t think he gets the credit he’s due,” Bolt says, sheepishly. “I know he’s in my band, but I can talk about him. I would put him in a class of singers that’s pretty rare. It’s most amazing to me that he can sing with that much power night after night. It’s a hard thing to do.”

Needtobreathe’s Tour de Compadres concert will begin 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre 1801 NE Sixth St., with opening acts Mat Kearney, Parachute and Welshly Arms. Tickets cost $30.50, $40.50 and $50.50. Call 954-519-5500 or go to TheAmpPompano.org.