If
Collective Soul
's 2004 comeback album,
Youth
, was a splashy, glammy
guitar rock
record, its EP sequel,
From the Ground Up
-- arriving just six months later -- is its opposite, a gentle, laid-back set of acoustic tunes. But with the exception of
"Youth,"
which may have been intended as the title song for the proper album, there are no new songs here: the remaining seven tunes are relaxed acoustic reinterpretations of songs from the band's catalog. The stripped-down, laid-back vibe suits the group well, making the guys sound relaxed and assured, more natural than they do on many of their glistening studio albums. While this is primarily a record for fans -- the only big hit to lure in casual listeners is
"December"
--
sound so loose and warm here, they might manage to win over some doubters, if they ever managed to hear the record. This, combined with the shiny
hard rock
of
, suggests that
is entering its second decade as a more ambitious and interesting band than it was at the height of its popularity in the mid-'90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine