Collective Soul Revisit New Wave Genre With Latest LP

At first, it's surprising to hear that Collective Soul has made a new album, channeling the spirits of new wave music as an inspiration.

But when you start to think about the Atlanta group's own radio hits they began logging in the '90s at both alternative and rock radio, the signs are right there. It starts to makes more sense how they arrived at Touch and Go, their 13th studio album, which will be released on Saturday (April 18) as part of Record Store Day.

You hear it prominently with tracks like "Gel" from their 1995 self-titled album and even perhaps within "Shine," their 1994 breakout single. While the latter sounds more like a big '70s rock anthem at times on the surface, it's not hard to also trace it back to the quirkier side of the '80s, structurally, from an arrangement standpoint.

Frontman and songwriter Ed Roland is quick to agree with at least half of that hypothesis. "'Gel' basically came from the Cars' 'Candy-O' back when I was learning to play that," he confirms. "I was like, okay, cool rhythm. Let's just manipulate that."

Listen to 'Candy-O' by the Cars

The Boston new wave group looms large in the spiritual DNA of the songs on Touch and Go. So much so that fans will have fun picking out certain guitar lines, keyboard stabs and vocal callbacks that exist as Easter eggs that quickly register as familiar ear candy as you're listening through the album.

While the album title is a direct homage to the band, known for their hits like "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll" and many others, it makes you wonder if Collective Soul actually went as far as recording covers of any of those famous songs. "No, I think we're covering them enough," Roland laughs. "We were pushing it, to be honest with you."

READ MORE: Top 10 Cars Songs

The Inspiration Behind the 'Touch and Go' Album

"We made a piano record two or three years ago. Then we went and made a double album and we put the piano record on hold. Then we made a rock record that we put on hold," Roland explains. "I decided I wanted to do something new wave, just to do something different. And the guys were like, 'Let's do that.' I felt it just had a little more excitement, with the vibe of what we wanted to do, instead of just doing the same thing over and over."

"I grew up in that era where you had the Cars, Eurythmics, even solo artists like Paul Young," he adds. "It was just fun to hear the melodies. And then, along comes the Cult and they put a little rock in there. I don't consider them new wave, but they were at the edge of it. [With] Death Cult, as they were called at the beginning, they just started putting some cool guitar riffs in there. That's kind of what we based it all off of [with our] records."

Courtesy of ABC Public Relations

Cheap Trick and XTC Were Important Inspirations

It makes sense that Touch and Go is arriving first as a special release for Record Store Day, complete with a bonus poster that comes with the LP. Roland remains, at heart, a diehard music fan just like all of us.

He still enjoys the musical intricacies that reveal themselves as you continue to listen to your favorite albums. He calls out Cheap Trick and the Beatles as two bands that he enjoyed examining at close range early on.

"You can call them quirky sounds, but they were melodies," he shares, when considering how pop songs evolved to power pop and eventually, what we came to know as new wave. "It just kind of intertwined all of the time and it was fun to listen to, because I'm more of a melodic guy."

"I got the concept of [Collective Soul's] 'December' from XTC, [because] they were playing the same riff over and over for four minutes. But Andy [Partridge] kept you interested [with songs like] 'No Language in Our Lungs.'"

Listen to XTC's 'No Language in Our Lungs'

"It was just the same chord progression," he continues. "I was like, that is so ingenious and so cool and also, not inspiring.....but it's not as easy as it sounds to keep that chord progression going on for four minutes and then make sure that the audience stays interested in those four chords."

What's Ahead for Collective Soul

Touch and Go will get a general release after Record Store Day. Roland says fans can look forward to it arriving on digital and other formats sometime this summer. In a familiar twist, he's already looking down the road to get the next album wrapped up and it's the "rock record" that he mentioned at the beginning of our chat that will find its way out into the world.

Courtesy of Collective Soul

"I'm gonna try to get it mixed. We've got a couple of weeks off in May, so I'm gonna try to get [it done] then before we go back on the road for the rest of the summer and just stay ahead of the game."

In the meantime, fans can also enjoy Give Me a Word, the documentary about the group which arrived last year -- and the group has plenty of shows coming up as well, as you'll see below.

It's important to note when it comes to that last item, they're still having fun. "We're not going okay, get on the bus. We gotta go to the next show. We sit there and enjoy it," Roland shares. "Sometimes I have to have constructive criticism. What can we do better? Because we don't manipulate our sounds. We're a real band and we'll always stay that way. I refuse to use loops or tapes. I'm just not going to be that guy and neither is the band. We don't want to."

Watch the 'Give Me a Word' Film Trailer

Collective Soul, 2026 Tour Dates

Fri 4/24 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live Orlando
Sat 4/25 Savannah, GA Johnny Mercer Theatre
Tue 4/28 Greenville, SC Peace Center Concert Hall
Wed 4/29 Dothan, AL Dothan Civic Center
Fri 5/1 Baton Rouge, LA L’Auberge Baton Rouge Casino Resort
Sat 5/2 Bossier City, LA Margaritaville Resort and Casino
Fri 5/22 Portsmouth, VA Rivers Casino Portsmouth - The Event Center
Fri 6/5 Ludington, MI Stix
Fri 7/3 Lake Charles, LA Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel & Casino
Sat 7/11 Morton, MN Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel
Thu 7/23 Grover Hill, OH Wetzel Motorcycle Rally
Fri 7/24 West Bend, WI Washington County Fair Park
Sat 7/25 Menahga, MN Mid Summer Music Fest
Fri 7/31 Regina, SK. Conexus Arts Centre
Fri 8/7 Tillamook, OR Tillamook County Fairgrounds
Sun 8/16 Winnipeg, MB. Burton Cummings Theatre Event
Sat 8/22 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus
Tue 8/25 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
Wed 8/26 Hyannis, MA Melody Tent
Sat 8/29 Atlantic City, NJ Ocean Casino Resort
Sun 8/30 Selbyville, DE Freeman Arts Pavilion