The band also announced the first set of dates for what will be a massive U.S. concert tour expected to include more than 70 dates.

Collective Soul will kick things off with a handful of dates in Canada, beginning July 11 at the Stampede Roundup in Calgary, A.B., before hooking up with Live for three shows: July 15 at the Greyhound Park Amphitheatre in Spokane, Wash.; July 17 at the Sun Valley Outdoor Pavilion in Idaho and July 18 at the Snowking Center in Jackson, Wyo.

For the next leg of the tour, the band will join forces with Live and Counting Crows for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Triple Play Ballpark tour.

The tour gets rolling July 22 at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Del., and will make stops at diamonds across the country, including Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio (July 27), Dunne Tire Park in Buffalo, N.Y. (August 1), Victory Field in Indianapolis (August 4), Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa (August 11), the Blair County Ballpark in Altoona, Pa. (August 21), and Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, N.D. (September 2).

Additional dates for Collective Soul’s tour are expected in the future.

Collective Soul vocalist and songwriter Ed Roland explained the band’s decision to go indie and release their own album was motivated by the changing face of the industry.

“As a band, we released five albums and were with a major label for seven years,” Roland said. “Traditionally, that had been the ultimate dream and only outlet for an artist and songwriter to present their music. The music business is different now.”

Roland also said the band considers the music on the new disc, which focuses on themes of love and positive feelings, some of their strongest work yet.

“We’re still a guitar oriented band, but we’re more confident than ever in the music we’re making and the reason we’re making it.”