Matchbox Twenty, “Where the Light Goes.”

Where the Light Goes may have been as much as a surprise to alt-rockers Matchbox Twenty as anyone. The band had no plans for new recordings for years; each member was locked into his own side project. It seemed unlikely that a light would shine through. In the years following 2012’s North, the band slowly built the structure for Where the Light Goes. A thrice-postponed tour gave Rob Thomas and co. time to let the creativity grow. What was meant to be a handful of new songs for the tour became a full-blown album.

It would have been easy enough for the band to tap into ’90s nostalgia, lay down some riff-laden anthemic pop-rock and call it a day. Instead the quartet delivered a shimmering record that feels alive. Opener “Friends” is an immediate tone-setter, feeling like it was drawn directly from playing on stage. From the shouted melodies to the horn-laden intro, it rises and falls with a distinct electricity.

“All my friends are here,” Thomas proclaims in the chorus, a simple line that can be applied so many different ways from the band  to its fans.

Upbeat songs like “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)” mix traditional and non-traditional sounds to create an instrumentation that’s urgent. Thomas remains a force; his vocal range seems to only get wider as the years go by.

Some songs sound autobiographical about the band’s mindset more than three decades in. The upbeat “Rebels” is an introspective on youth through the lens of time and reconciling it with the maturity that age brings.

“We’re all rebels when we’re young/ I think it’s time you let it go now/ When you get angry with yourself/ You blame the rebel that you sold out,” Thomas sings.

Beautiful, piano-driven ballad “One Hit Love” continues the inward-looking thread. The song suggests that the band’s goals and passions remain the same all these years later. Maybe it’s no surprise that they all found themselves together again.

The atmospheric and infectious “Warm Blood” relies on unique percussive rhythms and bright guitar work. “Queen of New York City” starts as a piano ballad that you might associate with Matchbox Twenty’s sound, but it quickly goes other places. Once the soaring chorus arrives, the song is transported into a more rootsy, Americana direction with an acoustic stomp.

“I burn like fire and I walk on wires/ And I lose myself when you just give it away,” Thomas sings on the upbeat title track.

The intimate “Hang On Every Word” delivers a quiet intricacy, built primarily on a foundation of piano and acoustic guitars. Thomas’ warm vocal timbre immediately resonates, cutting through with an earnest message of deep love.

Upbeat pop-rocker “Don’t Get Me Wrong” seems tailor-made for concerts and sounds like it was written with the band jamming on the studio floor.

“I know you think I’m gone/ But I’m all in; don’t get me wrong,” Thomas asserts.

Guitarist Kyle Cook takes center stage on brooding bluesy anthem “I Know Better.” The slow-burner builds and builds before crescendoing in a dramatic chorus, which has the band running on all cylinders before everything fades away, leaving Cook to sing the last line a cappella.

The band recruited Amanda Shires for harmonies on the lively “No Other Love.” Shires remains more in the background but is an effective counterpoint to Thomas’ vocals.

“I don’t need to understand it/ I just need a guiding light/ If you’re selling faith, then I’m buying right now,” Thomas sings on acoustic closer “Selling Faith.”

Faith is abundant on the album, and it seems there’s still room to keep looking for where the light goes.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.