Collective Soul CD review

Admittedly, it had been a while since I had given Collective Soul an honest and legitimate listen. Therefore, my review of Afterwards, their newest effort released last Tuesday, the 28th, will be void of much history and more about the sound and whether listeners will like it here an now.

They might. The album skirts the line of rock and pop with its two catchiest songs. “All That I Know,” could easily find itself on a Maroon 5 set list, if lead singer Ed Roland’s voice was a few octaves higher, while “What I Can Give You” has remnants of past hit “Shine” with its bounding rhythm and power chord driven guitar riff.

Most of the tracks would most likely have found themselves on the soundtracks of cancelled shows such as the OC, One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls. And maybe that says the most about the cd. It sounds just like how wikipedia describes the band: post-grunge rock. As in, best in the 1990’s. Collective Soul seems stuck in that era, and although that’s not a bad thing or even really their fault, it makes them less likely to be listened to by university students.

— By Nate Ley