The best EP ever.
Could you hear the buzz? Relient K's new EP "The Birds & The Bee Sides" (see what I did there?) is out tomorrow. It's 26 tracks of utter awesomeness. Behold, my (rather amateur-ish) review.
First up is "The Nashville Tennis EP", a 13-songs EP of new songs (except for "There Was No Thief" that used to be called plainly "The Thief", had a different arrangement and was a whole minute shorter cause they added a new verse to it).
First track "Where Do I Go From Here" starts with a banjo and gives a false sense this is a jolly country track. It soon changes to fast guitars and addictive vocals and morphs into a respectful punk-rock track with great lyrics.
Second track "The Scene & Herd" is an addictive rocky-punky tune speaking of the music scene and the herd that follows it. Lead singer Matt Thiessen opens with "so here it is, it's just me, a different drummer but the same ol' beat" referring to former drummer Dave Douglas' departure of the band after 7 years and the joining of new drummer Ethan Luck. Later on Thiessen declares that "you probably magically got this song for free, I'm not sure if it bothers me, it seems fine, cause I'm having a good time". Thiessen talks about what he does best, make the music he wants to make regardless of what the music scene would try to dictate. This is evident through every single Relient K album, in every single song, and especially on this record that is a mix of everything that is Relient K. Crazy, wild, experimental. The song was the first to be posted off the album on the band's myspace and among the first to be performed, and for a good reason. It sets the tone for the entire album.
"At Least We Made It This Far" is a sardonic song about a dying relationship between two people who are tired of each other and can't even look each other in the eyes. A relationship turned meaingless where you automatically say "I love you" and don't even mean it. The song sounds country-flavored and mellow and is jam-packed with toned sarcasm.
"The Last, The Lost, The Least" is bassist John Warne's turn to shine, and he does. With incredible vocals and an addictive beat, this song is easily one of the best on this album. The lyrics are so catchy you'd find yourself singing along in no time. An instant favorite. Well done, Johnny!
"The Lining Is Silver" is a beautifully written track that urges you to look at the bright side of life in a unique way, saying "Bon Voyage" to bad excuses, bones in your closet, backup plans that you didn't have to use and flaws that you saw in yourself and other people. "Isn't it nice to know that the lining is silver? Isn't it nice to know that we're golden?" It is indeed.
"There Was No Thief" is a new version to Apathetic EP's "The Thief". Back then you couldn't get why that song got that name, but a new verse added at the begining of this new version would clarify. "There was no thief, cause it was me that lost you". I'm not a big fan of the new arrangment, I was a big fan of the old one. The old one had a painful tone about it, this one is a little more fast-paced (but still a slow mellow song) and kind of loses the painful simplicity it once had.
"No Reaction" is new drummer Ethan Luck's song. It starts as a fast punk-rock song with a Blink 182 flavor but soon turns into a funky reggae tune. It's quite cool. Welcome to RK, Ethan. We love having you around.
"Curl Up And Die" is a painful simple acoustic-sounding track. The lyrics cut through my soul like a really sharp knife. On every Relient K album there's always a song that hits spot-on at how I feel. It's like Thiessen and I are connected somehow. And maybe he's just an amazing songwriter. This is easily the best slow-track on the album.
Matt Hoopes expresses his love to his wife through "You'll Always Be My Best Friend". His warm vocals and the sweet lyrics of this song put an instant smile on anyone's face and provide an instant relief from the agony of "Curl Up And Die". In that, the album is very well set out, that is to say, a lot of thought has been put on which song should go where so the album flows really well. This song is also very country-flavored. So much you'd think you were watching CMT. So this is where Jon Schneck's slides came into play....
"There Was Another Time In My Life" brings the microphone back to Matt Thiessen, in which he talks of life before knowing his chosen one (fiancee Shannon). Unlike previous songs of that nature from "Five Score And Seven Years Ago", this isn't an upbeat song but rather a chilled out ballad.
"Beaming" is a fun short track in which Thiessen asks Star Trek's Scotty to "beam [him] up", give him a cup of coffee and oh yeah, the internet's still not working. Relient K are beaming, and so is anyone listening to that song.
"I Just Want You To Know" plays heavily on Relient K's world-famous clever lyrics and is a cheerful mid-tempo song with a beat that makes you wanna tap your leg along to the song.
"Bee Your Man" is Jon Schneck's track. Short and sweet, it's so redneck you'd feel like calling out "howdy y'all!". It ends with a thank you to the fans who bought the record from "Matt, Jon, Matt, John and Da-- Ethan" (a wink to the first "Woodland Forest" episode. Watch it if you haven't) and goes on to listing 5 (rather, 4) great things about America, all in a thick southern accent.
Then, as we say goodbye to "The Nashville Tennis EP", a buzzing sound is heard and someone gets stung by a bee. Some weird voices intro "The Birds & The Bee Sides".
The Birds And The Bee Sides offers some great tracks. It starts off with an acoustic version of the "Five Score" track "Up And Up", goes on to old-school track "Wit's All Been Done Before", and moves on to The Vinyl EP's "The Vinyl Countdown", a hilarious track that I personally never got to fully appreciate so far because of the real poor quality I had of it. In full quality, you get all the lyrics and realize just how awesome this song is. Next up, punky tracks "For The Band" and "Nothing Without You" (which, again, due to bad quality was never properly appreciated). Funny track "A Penny Loafer Save Is A Penny Loafer Earned" gives way to Thiessen, former drummer Dave and former bassist Brian's discussion about penny loafers (they think they're absurd). "Five Iron Frezy Is Either Dead Or Dying" appears in two versions - a regular album version and a ska version. Both are highly amusing as they pay tribute to Five Iron Frezy because "they were good, they were good, they were really really really good". Next up is an acoustic version of Mmhmm's "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been", this sounds like a new version, the drum beat is different to any version I previously heard and it gives a fresh flavor to the considerably old song (2004 was a while ago). Next up are two previously unreleased demos - "Here I Go" that felt like an anthem to my upcoming army release as it talks about leaving behind situations and places that make you miserable, and "The Stenographer" (I have not formed an opinion on that one yet). A third demo, previously released on an EP, is the fantastic "Jefferson Airplane" demo. While I do prefer the final version, this demo is still very good. The album closes with an acoustic version of "Must Have Done Something Right" b-side "(Hope For Every) Fallen Man". This was previously released as a bonus for copies of "Five Score" that were bought at Wal-mart.
All in all, this EP has something for everyone in it. The Nashville Tennis EP sounds like the perfect transition record for Relient K. As they leave Capitol record and change drummers, they're out on a new path and they're experimenting. Fully living up the musical potential in every single one of the members of the band (writing and singing used to be Thiessen's monopoly). It is evident that every one of the five members of the band is important to the sound. The Birds & The Bee Sides reminds Relient K fans of just how funny and clever this band is, while The Nashville Tennis EP assures them that while the band have matured with their sound, they still have a witty bone in them.
This is a great record. Buy it. Now.
First up is "The Nashville Tennis EP", a 13-songs EP of new songs (except for "There Was No Thief" that used to be called plainly "The Thief", had a different arrangement and was a whole minute shorter cause they added a new verse to it).
First track "Where Do I Go From Here" starts with a banjo and gives a false sense this is a jolly country track. It soon changes to fast guitars and addictive vocals and morphs into a respectful punk-rock track with great lyrics.
Second track "The Scene & Herd" is an addictive rocky-punky tune speaking of the music scene and the herd that follows it. Lead singer Matt Thiessen opens with "so here it is, it's just me, a different drummer but the same ol' beat" referring to former drummer Dave Douglas' departure of the band after 7 years and the joining of new drummer Ethan Luck. Later on Thiessen declares that "you probably magically got this song for free, I'm not sure if it bothers me, it seems fine, cause I'm having a good time". Thiessen talks about what he does best, make the music he wants to make regardless of what the music scene would try to dictate. This is evident through every single Relient K album, in every single song, and especially on this record that is a mix of everything that is Relient K. Crazy, wild, experimental. The song was the first to be posted off the album on the band's myspace and among the first to be performed, and for a good reason. It sets the tone for the entire album.
"At Least We Made It This Far" is a sardonic song about a dying relationship between two people who are tired of each other and can't even look each other in the eyes. A relationship turned meaingless where you automatically say "I love you" and don't even mean it. The song sounds country-flavored and mellow and is jam-packed with toned sarcasm.
"The Last, The Lost, The Least" is bassist John Warne's turn to shine, and he does. With incredible vocals and an addictive beat, this song is easily one of the best on this album. The lyrics are so catchy you'd find yourself singing along in no time. An instant favorite. Well done, Johnny!
"The Lining Is Silver" is a beautifully written track that urges you to look at the bright side of life in a unique way, saying "Bon Voyage" to bad excuses, bones in your closet, backup plans that you didn't have to use and flaws that you saw in yourself and other people. "Isn't it nice to know that the lining is silver? Isn't it nice to know that we're golden?" It is indeed.
"There Was No Thief" is a new version to Apathetic EP's "The Thief". Back then you couldn't get why that song got that name, but a new verse added at the begining of this new version would clarify. "There was no thief, cause it was me that lost you". I'm not a big fan of the new arrangment, I was a big fan of the old one. The old one had a painful tone about it, this one is a little more fast-paced (but still a slow mellow song) and kind of loses the painful simplicity it once had.
"No Reaction" is new drummer Ethan Luck's song. It starts as a fast punk-rock song with a Blink 182 flavor but soon turns into a funky reggae tune. It's quite cool. Welcome to RK, Ethan. We love having you around.
"Curl Up And Die" is a painful simple acoustic-sounding track. The lyrics cut through my soul like a really sharp knife. On every Relient K album there's always a song that hits spot-on at how I feel. It's like Thiessen and I are connected somehow. And maybe he's just an amazing songwriter. This is easily the best slow-track on the album.
Matt Hoopes expresses his love to his wife through "You'll Always Be My Best Friend". His warm vocals and the sweet lyrics of this song put an instant smile on anyone's face and provide an instant relief from the agony of "Curl Up And Die". In that, the album is very well set out, that is to say, a lot of thought has been put on which song should go where so the album flows really well. This song is also very country-flavored. So much you'd think you were watching CMT. So this is where Jon Schneck's slides came into play....
"There Was Another Time In My Life" brings the microphone back to Matt Thiessen, in which he talks of life before knowing his chosen one (fiancee Shannon). Unlike previous songs of that nature from "Five Score And Seven Years Ago", this isn't an upbeat song but rather a chilled out ballad.
"Beaming" is a fun short track in which Thiessen asks Star Trek's Scotty to "beam [him] up", give him a cup of coffee and oh yeah, the internet's still not working. Relient K are beaming, and so is anyone listening to that song.
"I Just Want You To Know" plays heavily on Relient K's world-famous clever lyrics and is a cheerful mid-tempo song with a beat that makes you wanna tap your leg along to the song.
"Bee Your Man" is Jon Schneck's track. Short and sweet, it's so redneck you'd feel like calling out "howdy y'all!". It ends with a thank you to the fans who bought the record from "Matt, Jon, Matt, John and Da-- Ethan" (a wink to the first "Woodland Forest" episode. Watch it if you haven't) and goes on to listing 5 (rather, 4) great things about America, all in a thick southern accent.
Then, as we say goodbye to "The Nashville Tennis EP", a buzzing sound is heard and someone gets stung by a bee. Some weird voices intro "The Birds & The Bee Sides".
The Birds And The Bee Sides offers some great tracks. It starts off with an acoustic version of the "Five Score" track "Up And Up", goes on to old-school track "Wit's All Been Done Before", and moves on to The Vinyl EP's "The Vinyl Countdown", a hilarious track that I personally never got to fully appreciate so far because of the real poor quality I had of it. In full quality, you get all the lyrics and realize just how awesome this song is. Next up, punky tracks "For The Band" and "Nothing Without You" (which, again, due to bad quality was never properly appreciated). Funny track "A Penny Loafer Save Is A Penny Loafer Earned" gives way to Thiessen, former drummer Dave and former bassist Brian's discussion about penny loafers (they think they're absurd). "Five Iron Frezy Is Either Dead Or Dying" appears in two versions - a regular album version and a ska version. Both are highly amusing as they pay tribute to Five Iron Frezy because "they were good, they were good, they were really really really good". Next up is an acoustic version of Mmhmm's "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been", this sounds like a new version, the drum beat is different to any version I previously heard and it gives a fresh flavor to the considerably old song (2004 was a while ago). Next up are two previously unreleased demos - "Here I Go" that felt like an anthem to my upcoming army release as it talks about leaving behind situations and places that make you miserable, and "The Stenographer" (I have not formed an opinion on that one yet). A third demo, previously released on an EP, is the fantastic "Jefferson Airplane" demo. While I do prefer the final version, this demo is still very good. The album closes with an acoustic version of "Must Have Done Something Right" b-side "(Hope For Every) Fallen Man". This was previously released as a bonus for copies of "Five Score" that were bought at Wal-mart.
All in all, this EP has something for everyone in it. The Nashville Tennis EP sounds like the perfect transition record for Relient K. As they leave Capitol record and change drummers, they're out on a new path and they're experimenting. Fully living up the musical potential in every single one of the members of the band (writing and singing used to be Thiessen's monopoly). It is evident that every one of the five members of the band is important to the sound. The Birds & The Bee Sides reminds Relient K fans of just how funny and clever this band is, while The Nashville Tennis EP assures them that while the band have matured with their sound, they still have a witty bone in them.
This is a great record. Buy it. Now.
1 Comments:
this cd is purdy good i like it!!!!!!
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