Relient K – Five Score and Seven Years Ago

Back in 2001 I was introduced by a friend to this band called Relient K, they were a Christian rock band of sorts with a penchant for catchy tunes, pithy lyrics and some really great tunes. Their current album at the time, The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek, became a frequent resident of my CD player and I was hooked. Since then Relient K have gained quite a reputation in America, their constant touring and devotion to their fans and their music have quietly gained them a following and it was only with 2004’s ‘Mmhmm’ that they approached the mainstream. With that album came not only success but a new maturity in their sound and song writing, unlike some bands that stagnate over time Relient K have never been afraid to mix things up and a combination of heavier and more emotional tracks was neatly balanced with the lighter catchier songs more akin to their early days. What always separated them for me was the blend of great music, with meaningful and interesting lyrics. Whilst they have a similar style to many other bands I have liked in the past, Blink 182, New Found glory et al. they have always attempted to put a fresh spin on pop/punk tracks, and applying subtle and interesting reminders and messages about their faith in relation to everyday life has made their songs relevant and meaningful So often Christian music is all lumped into a specific type and it’s nice to see someone breaking the mould and talking about these issues in a real way, rather than repeating worn out idioms and mantras.

This week I purchased a copy of their latest album Five Score and Seven Years Ago, their fifth album (in seven years, hence the title) and after a few listens I already love it. It is another step forward for the band, sound wise it remains close to Mmhmm, but the songs seem to come even easier now, each is great and in terms of variety, consistency and pacing this album already stands out from their others. Of all the bands I like Relient K have had probably the biggest impact on my personally, a combination of the right music at the right time I guess and in fact it’s from a Relient K song that I found the title for this blog, Forward Motion was a track that resonated strongly with me and I think it sums up my attitude to life and the approach I take day by day.

So if you’ve never heard of Relient K I recommend you check them out, unfortunately they are relatively unknown in the UK but check out their website here and thanks to the internet it’s easy enough to buy or download their albums from the likes of Amazon and iTunes. Well now that this shameless plugging is over with I’ll get back to my flurry of movie reviews, apologies that they have been rather flooding the blog ahead of other stories lately but I want to keep up to date with my movie viewings. Anyway I’ll have some more of them soon but also a piece on Super Paper Mario, the latest news on No Saints my five-a-side football team and maybe, just maybe, some original writing - you never know…