Relient K Goes Back To Basics For New Album

The Record Is Excitingly Fresh And Well-Crafted

Oct 14, 2009

Pop-punk band Relient K try new style on latest record and it works.

Finally, an under produced Relient K record. It’s about time these guys got back to the basic rock and roll they should have made two years ago instead of the overdone Five Score and Seven Years Ago.

Released through Mono Vs. Stereo and Jive records, the 14 track album clocks just under 45 minutes.

Lead singer and guitarist Matthew Thiessen introduces the record with the question-riddled Forget and Not Slow Down.

Matthew Thiessen Matures Lyrically On New Record

Thiessen is no stranger to writing contemplative material, engaging in it slowly throughout the alternative rock band’s 11-year career. While he has a firmer grip on it here, there are still tough situations he’s struggling with such as the breakup of his engagement to a girl he may still be in love with.

Thiessen said in an interview earlier this year that he spent a lot of time alone writing for the album and how he wouldn’t do it any differently because of the positive effect it had on his songwriting. The ripple from those intimate sessions clearly shows on I Don’t Need A Soul, the second track. I listen to the sirens as they sing me back to sleep I pray that no one’s seriously hurt It feels like everything is dying at the pivot point of me I listen to the sirens tell me things could still be worse

Relient K Experiments With New Material

Listening to the album as whole, there is a definite organic nature to the music. The normally distorted guitars that formed their pop-punk sound are toned down slightly. There is more acoustic guitar and piano now, reminiscent of the folksy music from The Nashville Tennis EP, released as part one of The Bird and The Beesides.

This shift in sound has added to their diversity and strength. While the rough sketches on the EP were the sound of their feet getting wet, they’re completely dry now.

This is best demonstrated on the three part epic Oasis (intro), Savannah, and Baby (Outro). An eclectic trio of Beach Boy-esque harmonies, funky acoustic jamming and soaring choruses; this is what separates Relient K from the countless pop-punk bands that attempt the same (Plain White T’s anyone?)

Noticeably absent from this record are the campy situations and lightweight substance that dominated many of the early albums (Relient K, The Anatomy of The Tongue In Cheek and Two Lefts…). Mmhmm was underrated and perhaps their best piece of work. That album set the course towards lyrical maturity the band is following now.

Also missing from this LP is drummer Dave Douglas, who left two years ago to pursue other interests. His absence on the record isn’t too noticeable seeing as they brought in another experienced drummer and former lead guitarist of Demon Hunter, Ethan Luck, to fill in.

Luck’s addition to the group was way beyond need. He brings an intensity the group hasn’t seen before. And because of him, there are more new members now in Relient K than founding ones, but this has only served to improve the band’s sound.

A Rock And Roll Album For The IPod Generation

What I could’ve done better but what good do what ifs do I’d rather forget and not slow down

There’s a real relationship to be made with the candid songs here and that is something rock bands don’t offer much of anymore.

Forget and Not Slow Down reveals a band in transition, veering out on the edge of their indie-pop imagination and in the process, carving out endless possibilities for themselves.

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