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Atlanta rockers Collective Soul return with their sixth studio album and their first studio album since 2000’s critically acclaimed Blender. Unlike all of their past releases, Collective Soul has released this album independently on the newly formed E1 Music Group. Collective Soul brothers Ed Roland and Dean Roland along with Will Turpin and Shane Evans are back in full force with newly recruited guitar player Joel Kosche. The album starts off with the hook filled ‘Better Now’ that couldn’t be a more perfect opening track for a band coming off a long hiatus. Equally as ear catching are following two tracks ‘There’s A Way’ and ‘Home’ which both are the typical upbeat solid tracks that fans have come to expect from Collective Soul. Perhaps this album is truly most impressive on some of the slower tracks, like ‘How Do You Love’ and ‘Perfect to Stay’ both displaying the talented songwriting skills that the seasoned veterans of Collective Soul possess. While this album stacked with great songs, arguably the most impressive track on the album is the ballad ‘Under Heaven’s Skies’ which is reminiscent of ‘The World I Know’ and may surpass it as one of the most heartfelt songs the band has written to date. The aptly named ‘Youth’ displays that Collective Soul can still write and record hook filled music of the same caliber as they did years ago, and do it on a level that very few bands have been able to do since this band went on hiatus. Simply put, rock music still needs Collective Soul.