In a landscape dotted with exhibitionist pop star performance artists, flashy and psychedelic rappers, tremulous indie folk hipsters, and more wholesome crossover country than ever, there’s something oddly refreshing about the return of Matchbox Twenty. The band that defined the middle of the road in the late ’90s and early ’00s has been out of the game for more than five years. Its formula remains pretty much the same on “North,” the band’s fourth full-length studio album and the first with all new material in a decade. Frontman Rob Thomas has not lost his fastball as a craftsman. Listeners will be humming several songs off “North” before the second chorus even begins, whether they like it or not. First single “She’s So Mean” is pure ear candy, a power pop strut about a powerfully alluring woman full of buzzy effects that throw back to the ’80s. The all-consuming love ballad “Overjoyed” is equally irresistible melodically. Elsewhere, earnest, impassioned midtempo anthems (“Parade,” “English Town,” and “Sleeping at the Wheel”) pick up where predecessors such as “If You’re Gone” and “Push” left off. (Out Tuesday)
ESSENTIAL “Overjoyed”