COLLECTIVE SOUL - ‘Touch And Go’ album review

At a time when some newer bands may be grappling with the often-written about “difficult second album”, last week saw Atlanta-based post-grunge/alt rockers Collective Soul releasing their thirteenth album.

Having had a major hit, ‘Shine’, from their debut album in 1994 which has since racked up over 324 million streams on Spotify and 102 million views on You Tube; and with their second album going triple-platinum and delivering three No. 1 singles in the US, Collective Soul have nothing to prove. Other bands of their longevity may simply have slid into cruise control, pressed ‘repeat’ or be living off their past. Not so Collective Soul who have turned things on their head and released a New Wave album. Yes, you can read that last sentence again and it will still say “New Wave” … in 2026 … yes, in 2026 … and it’s 35 minutes of pure joy.

Trailed by a limited advance release on vinyl for Record Store Day in April, we had to wait a few months for the album’s full release.

If releasing a New Wave album appears unexpected, fans of the band will be aware that during COVID-19 when they couldn’t tour, Ed Roland (vocals) decided to fill the time by recording some songs which wouldn’t sound like anything they’d recorded before and influenced by his love of The Cars and ELO. Joining him in this venture were Jesse Triplett (lead guitar, Collective Soul), Cheney Brannon (former Collective Soul drummer) and Shawn Grove. A full album ‘The Living Room’ was recorded with only 1500 copies pressed and released on Record Store Day Black Friday in 2020. The self-titled album wasn’t attributed to Collective Soul and was then re-named as being by Alien Attitude and can still be found in iTunes and Spotify for those interested in tracking down a digital copy (highly recommended).

So, while ‘Touch And Go’ marks their first official New Wave release as Collective Soul, this particular musical itch has been there longer … and this latest album more than scratches it.

Album opener ‘Rainbow’ paints a sonic picture presenting what I can only describe as a cornucopia (that’s the first time I’ve used that in a review) of sounds which are at times familiar Collective Soul, dreamy, brooding, trippy, kaleidoscopic and with multi-layered and lush ELO-style backing vocals which also feature throughout the album.

‘Eye On You’ starts with a raw guitar leading into a 80’s New Wave keyboard riff straight out of a The Cars, Depeche Mode or Kraftwerk playbook before leading into a big rockier chorus. As I write this, my mind is trying to process what I’m hearing and telling me that this shouldn’t work, but it does.

‘Uh-Oh’ repeats the simplicity and remarkably effective musical approach of an even rawer big guitar riff followed by a simple isolated 80’s pop keyboard riff and with, you’ve guessed it, another big chorus this time framed around the song title.

Just when I’m wondering if the album can get any better, the ‘Can this album get any better?’ dial is turned up further. ‘All My Days on Thru’ starts off as a more familiar Collective Soul number. Mid-paced and guitar-driven, with slowly building verses, the chorus is then taken to another level by the wonderful high-pitched “Oooo-Oooos” and a stripped back beat-driven bridge designed for audience participation which is different, but similar in effect to The Killers’ “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier” bit in ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’. By this time I’m hooked and find myself sitting back in my chair hands raised and clapping along with the chorus. I’ve now played this album a good few times and found myself doing this every time I listened. I do not exaggerate. If seeking to invoke a primal response in listeners, objective achieved.

The pace drops with the half-spoken and atmospheric ‘Heavy Load’ and is followed by the faster electronic ‘Fun’ which connected less with me.

‘Again’ is I’m just going to say it, brilliant. A raw, addictive guitar riff and a welcoming vocal lead you into a keyboard riff which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an Erasure record. And I mean this as in Erasure good, not Erasure bad. If I’m honest I used to hate keyboards and synthesisers in the ‘80’s. Music was tribal and I fell into that. Whereas, this mix of raw guitars and dancing keyboard riffs will have you bobbing around and, to use a cliche, dancing like nobody’s watching.

‘Feel’ continues The Cars theme, but this time taking more of a lead from ‘Drive’ and also a little evocative of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ before ‘Shooting For You’ provides a slice of classic Collective Soul.

The closing song ‘Love Your Way’ is pure ‘80’s nostalgia, a homage to The Cars and all things New Wave with a massive life-affirming chorus and another stripped back bridge to encourage singing out loud while the credits to a John Hughes movie roll in the background. Okay, I might have made up that last bit, but you get the idea.

While the original intent behind this was to create music which didn’t sound like Collective Soul and to celebrate their love of New Wave and other influences, they only partially succeeded. Yes, The Cars and ELO influences are to the fore and all through this music, but you can’t keep a good band down. The vocal delivery and phrasing is distinctive and unmistakably Ed Roland’s, the songs unmistakably Collective Soul, and the album unmistakably good.

What none of us may have expected is just how well Collective Soul’s distinctive sound mixes with these very different musical sounds.
But, I shouldn’t be surprised by this. I’ve been listening to Collective Soul for over 30 years since I bought their self-titled second album in 1995 and still play it regularly. Truth be told, I wasn’t a big fan of grunge and found much of the de-tuned music depressing and a bit of a dirge. While I love rock music in many forms, I recognised that much of it had become bloated and over-blown as the ‘70’s progressed and punk provided welcome musical change; for me post-grunge was similarly needed after grunge had run its course and respectfully built on some of the elements which had made it popular but importantly injected some melody and light. And ‘Touch And Go’ has these in buckets.

35 minutes of pure joy.

GMcA