Artist: Relient K

Album: Mmhmm

Label: Gotee Records

Tracks: 14

Length: 50:28

Reviewed By: Justin Brinker

 

One thing that I have always detested is walking in to a Christian bookstore and seeing that annoying, gigantic poster that is hanging up somewhere near the music section that claims “this artist sounds like this secular artist.”  It not only is completely incorrect 99.9% of the time, but also for those that love music it completely turns off a potential fan or buyer (unless you are an overprotective family member, parent, grandparent, or just too lazy to listen to the music yourself).  This was my plight with Relient K. The first time I had read about this band was on one of those stupid posters that claimed: “if you like Blink 182 or Good Charlotte the you’ll love Relient K!”  I immediately wrote them off, despite my previous complaints against those who were too close-minded to make the decision for themselves. A few years later a friend of mine played me a few of their earlier songs, which further caused my vendetta against this band. Well several months back I had heard rumblings about their latest release, “Mmhmm” people were saying that they had grown musically and lyrically, this was to be a much more mature release.  How many times have we heard that pop punk bands mature only to have them switch their three chords over to an acoustic guitar and start using words like “baby” or “darling”?  Needless to say the word maturation has had its downside when describing the growth of many bands. Not so with “Mmhmm.” 

 

“The One I’m Waiting For” opens with a guitar riff reminiscent of Blink 182’s “Dude Ranch” as the band shouts, “Hey! Hey! Hey!” but the comparisons stop there.  It is three minutes of pop-punk bliss with a tempo change in the chorus as vocalist Matt Thiessen sings, “I’m still waiting for you to be the one I’m waiting for” over the bass line.  “Be My Escape” teeters between power pop and pop rock with its heavy piano runs heard throughout much of the track but manages to balance the guitar and piano work without being to heavy on either.  “High of 75” opens with frantic acoustic guitar intro before the electric guitar takes precedence all over an extremely catchy drum loop.  “I So Hate Consequences” seems like the next logical step for the band musically and lyrically.  There are really no punches pulled and it is pretty much a straight ahead punk/rock song, albeit Thiessen’s vocals sound a bit raspier and there is a scream or two thrown in, but it is pretty much standard for what the band has been doing.  It is standard until the end of the track.  Then the piano resurfaces and the songs suddenly is not a standard punk/rock song but rather takes on a new face as Thiessen sings, “There your words they caught my ears: You said, “I miss you son. Come home.” And my sins, they watched me leave and in my heart I so believed the love you felt for me was mine”  “The Only Thing Worse Than Beating a Dead Horse Is Betting On One” picks things up quite a bit and is one of the heavier songs on the album, complete with chimes in the background, and clocks in at just over a minute. 

 

The weak link to “Mmhmm” comes mid-album with, “My Girls-Ex Boyfriend” its not terrible but it is just too predictable.  “Which To Bury, Us or the Hatchet” is a mid-tempo rocker featuring a banjo and another rough vocal take by Thiessen, and even some screams on the bridge as Thiessen sings, “Wisdom always chooses these black eyes and these bruises over the heartache they say never really goes away.”  All of this is merely a precursor to the end of the song, which finds the band slowing down to a minimal pace with piano and acoustic guitar as the backdrop as Thiessen asks, “What happened to us I heard it’s me we should blame, Why didn’t you stop me from turning out this way?”  There is no pause between this track and the next track, “Let It All Out” a strong piano driven ballad.  This song features my favorite lyric on the record: “Today I will trust with a confidence of a man whose never known defeat, but tomorrow upon hearing what I did I will stare at you in disbelief.”  Things pick back up with “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” and “Maintain Consciousness” which boasts very tight vocal harmonies.  “Life After Death and Taxes (Failure II)” finds Relient K toying with the screaming vocals again before the chorus where things slow down and they employ strings and vocal rounds before picking the tempo back up.  The album closes out in a somewhat knowable fashion: an acoustic-driven ballad entitled, “When I Go Down.”  Fortunately it is not a disappointment it is just expected. 

 

This was not at all what I anticipated.  After hearing this I wish I could travel to bookstores nationwide and tear down every annoying, misleading poster that helped me to form a bias against this band years ago.  Sure there are a few weaknesses, like relying too much on the piano heavy outros, or the Switchfoot-esque acoustic closing track that sounds a little too akin to the band.  Somehow this does not take away from what an excellent album Relient K has created.  If this is the future of the CCM rock market then we are in for a very bright one.  If this is an indicator that pop/rock bands can still create interesting music while trying to mature and better their sound, then we should all be very excited.