429

How do you sound new after 25 years? Blues Traveler’s poetic center, John Popper, gave that quandary a great deal of thought for his band’s 11th studio album. His answer: a lot of co-writers. Suzie Cracks the Whip finds Blues Traveler incorporating a cast of outside voices, resulting in a novel yet familiar album. Opener “You Don’t Have to Love Me” (written by Aaron Beavers) comes with Popper’s dirigible energy, nearly managing to make even rejection sound fun. The good vibes continue on Carrie Rodriguez’s “I Don’t Wanna Go,” which brings Popper and American Idol’s Crystal Bowersox into a playful country swing, animating the carefree dance that they croon about. Balancing the album’s sugary highs are heartfelt ballads ( “Recognize My Friend,” “Love Is Everything” ) cowritten with singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith. And though Suzie Cracks the Whip isn’t a reinvention of Blues Traveler, it does rediscover what’s made them resonate with listeners for a quarter century.