Collective Soul "Touch And Go" (2026 Record Store Day LP)
For Record Store Day in 2026, Collective Soul issued a limited edition vinyl LP titled Touch And Go. The LP was limited to 2,500 copies, and pressed in blue-swirl-colored vinyl.
This new studio album from the Georgia-based rock band, who made their name during the alternative '90's, was inspired by '80's new wave sounds, particularly the sound of The Cars. (The album is presumably named after that band's 1980 song "Touch and Go"). The album was described as an "RSD Exclusive Release", and as of one month later has still not been given a wider release. However, a wider commercial release (either physical or digital) is likely to happen more sooner than later.
Although this album is touted as marking a new creative direction for Collective Soul, lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland did pursue this genre once before. Touch And Go is reminiscent of a 2020 Record Store Day Black Friday release by The Living Room (aka Alien Attitude), another Roland-led band which featured some of the same musicians as Touch And Go, including producer and keyboardist Shawn Grove. Grove's production and keyboards recall The Cars and other '80's new wave bands on both of these albums, which was the stated intention in both cases. Touch And Go is seemingly the more fully developed album of the two, wearing the Cars influence more prominently on its sleeve, and it makes a stronger impression.
Roland wrote all of the songs on Touch And Go, and played guitar and piano. His brother Dean Roland -- the only other remaining original member of Collective Soul -- also played guitar on the album. And at their core, the songs usually come across much like the usual brand of Southern guitar-based rock that this band is known for, with another dimension added by the new wave stylings. The first three tracks, as well as "Fun" (with its exciting pulsating bass line), go heaviest on the Cars-like elements. Roland sometimes sounds like he is vocally mimicking Ric Ocasek, but still sounds like himself. Aside from the very Greg Hawkes-like keyboards heard throughout, there are occasional guitar and bass parts that echo Elliott Easton and Benjamin Orr. But some of the tracks, like "Again" and "All My Days On Thru", seem to eschew the Cars sound in favor of the more common Collective Soul style -- although both of those tracks are reminiscent of the '80's in other ways. And the final track, "Love Your Way", ends the album firmly on a Collective Soul note, suggesting that the new wave concept was something that Roland and company wanted to try on for size, but may not continue to pursue in the future. The album's RSD rollout, as well as the one for the earlier Living Room album, may be a method of test-marketing the change in style. Whatever music this band may create next, Touch And Go is an agreeably fun genre experiment.
Collective Soul "Touch And Go" (Fuzze-Flex Records FFR0041) 2026
Track Listing:
1. Rainbow
2. Eye On You
3. Uh Oh
4. All My Days On Thru
5. Heavy Load
6. Fun
7. Again
8. Feel
9. Shooting For You
10. Love Your Way
The Living Room "The Living Room" (Fuzze-Flex Records FFR0014) 2020
Track Listing:
1. She Bows Down (To The Stars)
2. Just Like You
3. Here
4. Alien Attitude
5. Summer
6. These Times
7. The Living Room
8. Lucky Again
9. All For You
10. Welcome To Life
The Living Room is available digitally under the artist name Alien Attitude.
This new studio album from the Georgia-based rock band, who made their name during the alternative '90's, was inspired by '80's new wave sounds, particularly the sound of The Cars. (The album is presumably named after that band's 1980 song "Touch and Go"). The album was described as an "RSD Exclusive Release", and as of one month later has still not been given a wider release. However, a wider commercial release (either physical or digital) is likely to happen more sooner than later.
Although this album is touted as marking a new creative direction for Collective Soul, lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland did pursue this genre once before. Touch And Go is reminiscent of a 2020 Record Store Day Black Friday release by The Living Room (aka Alien Attitude), another Roland-led band which featured some of the same musicians as Touch And Go, including producer and keyboardist Shawn Grove. Grove's production and keyboards recall The Cars and other '80's new wave bands on both of these albums, which was the stated intention in both cases. Touch And Go is seemingly the more fully developed album of the two, wearing the Cars influence more prominently on its sleeve, and it makes a stronger impression.
Roland wrote all of the songs on Touch And Go, and played guitar and piano. His brother Dean Roland -- the only other remaining original member of Collective Soul -- also played guitar on the album. And at their core, the songs usually come across much like the usual brand of Southern guitar-based rock that this band is known for, with another dimension added by the new wave stylings. The first three tracks, as well as "Fun" (with its exciting pulsating bass line), go heaviest on the Cars-like elements. Roland sometimes sounds like he is vocally mimicking Ric Ocasek, but still sounds like himself. Aside from the very Greg Hawkes-like keyboards heard throughout, there are occasional guitar and bass parts that echo Elliott Easton and Benjamin Orr. But some of the tracks, like "Again" and "All My Days On Thru", seem to eschew the Cars sound in favor of the more common Collective Soul style -- although both of those tracks are reminiscent of the '80's in other ways. And the final track, "Love Your Way", ends the album firmly on a Collective Soul note, suggesting that the new wave concept was something that Roland and company wanted to try on for size, but may not continue to pursue in the future. The album's RSD rollout, as well as the one for the earlier Living Room album, may be a method of test-marketing the change in style. Whatever music this band may create next, Touch And Go is an agreeably fun genre experiment.
Collective Soul "Touch And Go" (Fuzze-Flex Records FFR0041) 2026
Track Listing:
1. Rainbow
2. Eye On You
3. Uh Oh
4. All My Days On Thru
5. Heavy Load
6. Fun
7. Again
8. Feel
9. Shooting For You
10. Love Your Way
The Living Room "The Living Room" (Fuzze-Flex Records FFR0014) 2020
Track Listing:
1. She Bows Down (To The Stars)
2. Just Like You
3. Here
4. Alien Attitude
5. Summer
6. These Times
7. The Living Room
8. Lucky Again
9. All For You
10. Welcome To Life
The Living Room is available digitally under the artist name Alien Attitude.
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