Northern - a compass point. A sense of place. A landmark for developments - and a direction to take. North is the title of the fourth MATCHBOX TWENTY album and the first in five years. And in this decade it is the first MATCHBOX TWENTY album to feature all new song material. Like the album's title, the 12 songs describe a new direction, a carefully selected path carefully chosen path that combines skilful melodiousness with enigmatic humour. On top of that, North defines a new order in the world of MATCHBOX TWENTY , which has led to a closer cohesion of the band than has been seen in 17 years of band history Band history so far. North shows MATCHBOX TWENTY - Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cool and Brian Yale - in fine tune with each other, from the stadium-proportioned anthem Put Your Hands Up to the kinetic beat of Our Song to the rich Art of Overjoyed and Parade . English Town and I Will are MATCHBOX TWENTY ballads at their best, while Thomas makes the song Like Sugar feel like a Mix of MATCHBOX TWENTY and Dr. Dre - "really fresh". And then there's the first single She's So Mean , which is already topping the charts in the USA: high energy and full of harmonies. "We don't record new albums that often anymore, so we spend all the energy and time not just on recording, but on getting the music out to the fans."