A delicious harmony of rock instruments and Rob Thomas’s gutsy voice spells out matchbox twenty’s second album, "mad season by matchbox twenty". Fresh from the success of "Smooth", Rob Thomas and gang are hitting right back at the audience with their follow up to their 1996 album, "Yourself Or Someone Like You".

The album, which was recorded in Atlanta and Nashville during the second half of 1999, focuses on life, loss and love – a far cry from the typical winding roads and bus windows normally sung by an artiste who finds himself propelled to newly-found fame.

The first single "Bent" has already achieved No. 1 most-added status in six radio station formats and is expected to top other charts around the world. Already it is the new "Hot Shot Debut" on the billboard "Hot 100".

This follows hot on the heels of Thomas’s runaway victory at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, where he won award he was nominated for. Thomas was honoured with three Grammy Awards including Song and record of the Year for Smooth, his 1999 chart-topping collaboration with Carlos Santana.

Thomas describes "Smooth" as a good bridge between taking a break, taking their time to do the album as well as "keeping them away from the "Where are they now?" file. He adds that his bandmates have taken his "Smooth" success in stride. "They are always busting me, calling me Grammy Davis Jr. or Sir Gramual Jackson", he says. "They are proud of me, but they’re keeping me in my place. They keep telling me, "We know you’re not that cool." The cohesiveness and the maturity in the band are evident.

Note their change of name from "Matchbox 20" to "matchbox twenty". Thomas explains, " There were a lot of number bands out there – Eve 6, Eiffel 65, Blink 182…We wanted to alleviate some of the confusion."

600 tour days on the road and a prestigious Diamond Award from the RIAA later, the band feels they have matured from the days of their first album. Matchbox twenty has grown into a creative musical machine firing on all cylinders. Thomas’s rich vocals have ripened in both strength and maturity, as have Jyle Cook and Adam Gaynor’s heartfelt harmonies and chiming guitar arrangements. Binding these elements together is the inventive, propulsive rhythm section of bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette.

"Bent" is just about the only optimistic song in the album. A lover’s plea, the song is meant to help Thomas though life. The album is predominantly rock, while Cook’s guitar chords and Thomas’s raspy vocals are resonant and impressionable. The band’s talent in music and songwriting is evident and as Alex Tear, Programme Director for WDRQ radio station in Detroit puts it, "…superstar status [for the band] is just around the corner". One unique thing about the new album: it will give fans access to AOL 5.0 software as well as the audio-player Winamp and the Internet music service Spinner. Winamp has created a player that will allow fans to listen to "You & I & I," a live bonus track recorded in Australia.