Week of Relient K

     On May 18th at Wooly's in Des Moines I saw Relient K. I even wrote a blog about it, or at least part of a blog. The hadn't put out a new album in a few years and I thought they had disappeared from the music world for good. At the show they announced they had a new album on the way and so they have returned. I'm going to be trying something different this week and adding a video file review for those of you who like pod casts better then blogs, two birds one stone. This week I will be reviewing Relient K - Collapsible Lung.

          Relient K is an American rock band from Canton, Ohio formed in 1988. The band consisted of Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes. They were formed in junior year of high school. The band was named after the guitarist's Plymouth with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name. They are a prominent force in the christian rock scene. They released All Work and No Play in 2000 to Gotee Records.  They released their debut ep 2000 A.D.D., soon after released their debut album Relient K. In 2001 they released their second album The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek. They swapped drumers for quite a while until finally hiring Dave Douglas in 2000. They accepted an offer from Abercrombie and Fitch in 2001 that shot them into stardom, but they band didn't like the decision and the contract was eventually cancelled. They also wrote a song for Veggie Tales before releasing their next album Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do in 2003, followed by Mmhmm in 2004. They album brought the band huge success with the of "Be My Escape". After this longtime member Brian Pittman left the band to join the Christian metal band Inhale Exhale. That's right there is such a thing as Christian metal. Following this they put out Five Score and Seven Years Ago in 2007, The Bird and the Bee Sides in 2008, and Forget and Not Slow Down in 2009. That brings us up to now with Collapsible Lung.

 

      Lets be honest being labeled as Christian rock is like being labeled as Nu Metal in the 90's. All the good Christian rock bands want out of that label. Yes their are good Christian rock bands: Switchfoot, Chevelle, Anberlin, Five Iron Frenzy, Mute Math, and Relient K, and all the other bands that are OK with that label are just terrible bands; Creed, Newsboys,  Tonic, P.O.D., and Lifehouse. Don't get my wrong I have no problem with the idea of a Cristian Rock band, I am both a Christian and a huge fan of rock. However the two things just don't combine all that well. Sure I like hot sauce and I like milk, but I sure don't want them together. Relient K are one of the few Christian rock bands that have stayed around and continued to make good music. Over the past few years thought they have sort of dissipated from the scene. The new album was an attempt to branch out and grab new fans and gain more relevance in the music world, while not sacrificing music quality. Lets find out if it worked.

                                                               Relient K- Be My Escape

                                                                                    Relient K have always been masters of walking the thin line between pop and pop punk. They keep things interesting with edgy guitar power chords, unbridled energy, and clever lyrics with references to god. They are truly great at making interesting lyrics that make you want scream and shout and let your inner partyer out, but not much, remember these are still good christian boys. However things have changed on this album, call it an identity crisis, loss of faith, selling out, or anything you want something is just off here. An album full of sub-par dance pop tracks that make use of synthesizers rather than guitar, what? Not Relient K, yep sorry guys. This album was co written by some of the same people who write for Lady Gaga, Cee Lo Green, and Maroon 5. So gone are the clever witty lyrics full of life and humor. Gone is the pop punk feel, and gone is almost every mention of god. Another artist that fell out of the spotlight and wanted to be noticed again by any means necessary. Even if that means making one of the most generic pop albums that I have had the displeasure of listening too. 

Relient K- Don't Blink

     The album opens with "Don't Blink", which is by far the album's strongest song. This album isn't all bad, just mostly. It brings the usual catchy and huge sing song chorus we are used too with Relient K, and is one of the only tracks that makes full use of rock guitar.  "Boomerang", is definitely more dance floor oriented but is one of the more tolerable songs, mostly because it again makes use of a large and catchy hook of a chorus. However the songs content involves the good boy christian kids hanging and chilling getting drunk at the bars trying to pick up women. As soon as the song "Lost Boy" opened I knew I was going to hate it. I was right, it is a giant generic pop song with no heart, soul, or interesting things to say. "If I Could Take You Home" pulls out the synthesizers and takes us back to the dance floor, except this time its an awful song about wanting to have sex with bar girls.  "Can't Complain" has a ukulele opening and a Jason Mraz feel to it. I actually don't hate this song. It's very island sounding and if your in that kind of mood, it's not awful. "Gloria" is a terrible song that could have been a James Blunt song. 

My Video Review of Relient K- Collapsible Lung

      "PTL" is a falsetto heavy song about a one night stand, it's bad that's it. "Disaster" is a little bit better filler song that makes use of a piano and horns that almost save it , almost. "When You Were My Baby" is the absolute worst song on here, the worst kind of ballad/love song. "Sweeter" slows things way down with a piano but it doesn't improve them any. "Collapsible Lung" is the last good song on here, sounds a lot more like your typical Relient K song. It starts slow and builds to a big chorus and even mentions the holy ghost. Then we have the closer, "That's My Jam" as if this album wasn't already obnoxiously poppy enough, they ask Owl City for help and make things go from bad to much much worse. It's a seriously awful dance pop crap song. The lyrics are clever in the worst kind of way. We get it your from the 90's stop naming bands and references.

                                                           Relient K- That's My Jam

      This a band that has truly lost it's way, and is just phoning in what even they have to know is pop crap. The sad part is this album will probably sell very well, stupid Owl City, and crappy music taste these days. Don't I just sound like a hipster right now anyways. It makes me sad because I was one of the few that defended Christian rock on the occasion because of bands like Relient K, and this is what they give me. Please get over this identity crisis/radio airplay cash in soon and make fun pop punk songs again. Until then I will just pretend like this album never happened.

Recommended songs: Don't Blink, Boomerang, and Collapsible Lung.

2/5 Stars

Week of Fleetwood Mac

     This week I have another classic concert for you. When it comes to band drama, most of the classic bands have plenty. Whether it's drug overdoses, broken friendships, or changes in lineups. Very few bands have more drama then this band. Sometimes called the most dysfunctional band in rock. This week I will be reviewing Fleetwood Mac live in concert. So get ready for a drama ridden tale of one of the most classically heartbroken bands still around.

     On June 26th I went to see Fleetwood Mac at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. I barely got to see them actually. The tickets were running around 50 dollars a piece for the cheap ones and I am not rich. However I am a huge fan or the album Rumours witch was celebrating its 35 anniversary this year, and they were going to mark that by playing most of it live, so I had to go. I got my ticket on the day of the show, which was lucky because it was 98%. Off I went to see how Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie could perform now a days. There was to be no opener and I was running late for the 8:00 start time, I finally got there at 8:20 just in time to hear "Second Hand News" coming on as I made my way to my seat way back in the nosebleeds.

     One of the things I was curious about was how the members of Fleetwood, specifically Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks interacted with one another. They have had one of the roughest relationships ever. They started off even before joining Fleetwood Mac as boyfriend and girlfriend and broke up right before the recording of Rumours. Which happened at the same time as the McVie's marriage ending and Mick Fleetwood divorcing his wife. Not a good time for romance in Fleetwood Mac. Actually most of the songs on Rumours are about the failing relationships. They were writing out their pain in their songs. They were also using drugs to overcome their pain. So throughout the Rumours process they were forced to be with the people they separated from, all while also being high on multiple drugs at the time. This is a combinations that lead to years of being traumatized by love and loss, but it also leads to some really good music.
                                            My Favorite song, The Chain- Fleetwood Mac

      They show started at 8:20 and lasted almost three hours. They didn't use a lot of special effects just a couple of video screens on the sides, one main one used later, and a curtain screen that came down near the end. That was it, bare bones rock for close to three hours. Take note up and coming bands this is how its done. They were all in top form, just experts who love playing music and have been doing so for years. It just floated out of them effortlessly. The one difference is they used to be accused of being in it just for the checks, but I think that is different now. They seemed to genuinely enjoy playing music and even better they that, seem to like playing with each other again. Which is something that hasn't always been true. They were all amazing as a group, but one needs to be praised for being the backbone of the current line up, and that's Lindsey Buckingham. He is in command and on top of everything in this show. He leads the male vocals, he plays lead guitar, and he was on stage almost all night while the others took frequent breaks. Stevie Nicks sounds amazing but seems to have lost some of her highest notes, because some songs were changed to match her aging voice. Lindsay hasn't lost his range at all he hit every note whether he sang it or played it. He owned it and everyone in attendance knew it.
                                             Check out Big Love- Fleetwood Mac Live

     The Started off playing thee Rumours songs in a row; "Second Hand News", "The Chain", and "Dreams". Following that they played a new song, "Sad Angel" off the new ep Extended Play and it sounded great. After that the main screen turned on and "Rhiannon" came on. The crowd went crazy. "Not That Funny", "Tusk",  "Sisters of the Moon", and "Sara" came next in a Tusk set. After that Lindsey Buckingham took the stage alone and played "Big Love". He was later joined by Stevie Nicks for "Landslide". In the next segment the played ; "Never Going Back Again", "Without You", "Gypsy", and "Eyes of the World". For "Gold Dust Woman" they turned back on the main big screen, and sent shivers down my spine as they killed that song. The next three songs were, "I'm So Afraid", "Stand Back", and "Go Your Own Way". "Go Your Own Way" was the high point of the entire night. They played two encores. The first consisted of "World Turning" with a huge drum solo from Mick Fleetwood thrown in and the second song was "Don't Stop". The last huge hit of the night. During the second encore it was just Lindsey and Stevie. They played "Silver Springs", and "Say Goodbye".
                                                     Here is "Go Your Own Way" live

This on again off again band of Fleetwood hasn't always had their heart in their performances, touring very sporadically and doing various solo projects. They hadn't even recorded an album in ten years, but now something has changed. They seem inspired again, their is genuine affection between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. The music of Rumours no longer echoes purely pain but music from one of rocks best albums being fully embraced. With the new ep out and more writing ahead of them I hope the love for music and inspiration keeps up, because its fun for the fans and even more fun for the band.