In a world of disposable pop songs that litter the charts like cigarette butts, there are few bands that can maintain a serious stature and stay true to their roots, not the labels on their clothes. Collective Soul is one such band. The Atlanta quintet sprung onto the music scene in 1994, shattering modern rock radio with "Shine," the most popular single off their first release, Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. 1995 saw "December" and "The World I Know" from Collective Soul, the latter becoming a rock staple that remains prominent today. 1997's Disciplined Breakdown was a rather disappointing release but hailed three crowd pleasers, "Precious Declaration," "Listen," and "Blame." Last year the band released Dosage, critically their most impressive release with "Tremble For My Beloved," "Heavy," "No More No Less," "Needs," "Slow," and "Run" all getting substantial radio play. The new album, Blender, fails to top Dosage, but, boy, does it come close.

Collective Soul has one of the most distinctive sounds in music that, pardon the pun, blends stark, black-and-white guitar notes with light electronic sounds and simple drum beats. Blender realizes this signature well when the album opens with "Skin," a sing-along with ba-da-ba-ba-dah-da-da-das and a poignantly religious message, "Jesus didn't speak English/but I do think I understand/the rhyme and reason of a goody good gentleman." Another standout-track is "Why Pt. 2", containing an equally poetic image, "Now I pause to let my silence scream/tonight/awhile you roam like a serpent satellite." The album lacks the psychoanalytic feel of Collective Soul that is characteristic of such bands as R.E.M. and Tears For Fears but makes up for it with very innovative images in the songs. Rarely is a modern rock band so poetic.

The album shows a host of celebrity musicians, including the legendary genius Sir Elton John, who can be found on "Perfect Day", a story about a very independent woman and her relationship with the narrator of the song. Also starring are Butch Walker and Jayce Fincher of Marvelous 3 fame on "Over Tokyo." Both guests make for wonderfully sung lyrics, but the overall voice of the album belongs to Ed Roland, who is complemented well with background vocals `a la lead guitarist Ross Childress and brother Dean Roland, reminiscent of U2. Roland sounds a little too forlorn on "10 Yrs. Later"; however, when one examines the lyric, the double-edged sword of interpretation would support such a claim. Naturally the entire album would fall apart without drummer Shane Evans and bassist Will Turpin to supplement such talented singers and guitarists.

Clocking in at just over 39 minutes, Blender shows the accessibility of modern pop music but brings together tight lyrics and honest melodies to create a best-of-both-worlds package. At times the electronic sounds are strained, resembling modern samples in not the best light. As aforementioned, the basic music itself makes up for flashy inadequacies.