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| Relient KFive Score and Seven Years Ago2007 Capitol 
  Review by: DarrenMcLeod See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on May 22nd 2007
Relient K are not the type of band one could ever really call an acquired taste. No, the band plays sugary pop-punk with an emphasis on the pop, and their seemingly innate ability to write excessively catchy tunes paid off on their last full-length, Mmhmm, which sold in excess of 700,000 copies. That album exposed the band’s newfound ability to explore new sounds, primarily through slowing the pace down, throwing in more rock influences and a significant chunk of piano.
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hate this album Relient K = LOVE!!! I love your music!!! Calibretto 13....awesome christian punk. LOL at your for LOLing something, tool. Jump the message board wannabe bad-ass trend and post the link to your band. Hey, genius! The album is sometimes overtly Christian because Relient K is a Christian band - and an awesome one at that. LOL at your band and the bands you have played with on your myspace thing. JUmp the emo trend, way to go. Bahaha at that douche two posts below me. Pretty good review. I was surprised by "Deathbed" as well. It's still catchy, but the band's capable of better - Mmhmm was better in pretty much every regard - and the record's got way too many cringe-worthy lyrics to earn a higher score than this. Any person who follows an organized religion is not even close to punk. The only possible explanation of "god" that does not have 100's of contradictions to it, is the statement that, "god created the world and left." Any person who believes in Christianity or Islam is a dumbass. There may be a "god" or superpower that exists but that power definitely is not answering your prayers at night. Score is for organized religion. 1900* 1920 Soooo "five score and seven years ago" would make it 1929? Right? Sometimes I wonder if the word "punk" even gets used these days without the precursor of "that's not". I too am enjoying this. I never said anything about rebellion for its own sake, although there are certainly plenty of bands/individuals I know who believe that. But, rebellion is a core component...like, what's the point of being a political punk band of you just go, "Yeah, everything's ok." I also think you're attributing faaaar too much openness and acceptance to the punk scene, when obviously there are certain rules that you're sort of pushed into following. It's ironic that right now I'm also "towing the party line"; thye anti-Christian, antihierarchical thing being part of codified "punk ethics". I, however, was drawn to punk because it matched my developing views. Anyway, there isn't really any viable way of completely going against the mainstream, because frankly, people need each other. It's sort of the whole "refusal with a smile and a sneer" thing; you rebel, but at the same time need the mainstream. I dunno. I got off-topic. I'd AIM you, but that's creepy. feeding5000 - if you do not think Jesus was a revolutionary, you are extremely ignorant of history. That is not the reason Christian punk is punk, anonymous. Some of it is, some of it isn't. My only argument is that being a Christian has nothing to do with whether you're punk or not. Nice going anonymous - way to tow the party fucking line. The fact that you have such a cut and dired response, that "Jesus was the greatest revolutionary" shows how full of bullshit Christian punk is. Seriously, that was 2000 years ago, give or take. 2000 yeras ago, not having 3 wives and raping them every night was a revolutionary idea. Plus, all he did was continue a tradition of blind servitude. It's not like saying, "believe in God, and also I can speak to Him", wasn't something the Jews hadn't been doing for about 3000 years before that. Ab-fucking-surd. I must say, this idea that "christian rock" and "christian punk" are not "rebellious" is ABSURD. Think about it: Jesus Christ staged the biggest rebellion when he said that he was the Saviour. He was a revolutionary because he was able to get people to understand that God was still there and that followinjg God was the right thing to do. Furthermore, the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church was rebellious because people first had to break away from Judaism, which, during that time, was a hugely revolutionary idea. Christian punk rock is the remebrance of Jesus, the world's greatest revolutionary. Reliant Gay where is the timbaland review?!?!?!! I need another Relient K album like a hole in the hands. Scrufula- You seem to be looking at this with a very jaded, pragmatic view. Basically, you're saying that since punk can't really change anything, it's okay to not bother with the idealistic side. I don't know how old you are, but I'm still young enough to be an idealist. To say that punk is about non-conformity is absolute BS - it is a subculture and, as such, has unwritten rules that keep it cohesive and self-regulating. That being said, rebellion and non-conformity are not the same thing. I feel that I am positioning myself in opposition to the dominant culture, but I am aware that what I am doing is nothing new. As for your point about music, which I feel is twisting my ideas just a tad, you do not have to "reject" the Clash. You can still like them, and listen to them, but they were not "punk" after the first album, once the rules and ethics of the subculture were more firmly in place. Also..."hipsterism" is it's own subculture, and if they want to show how cool they are by putting on the Clash after Le Tigre (who are punk by virtue of Kathleen Hanna), then that's okay with me. Actually, I've decided I might be more offended by EnemyWill's proclamation that Pokinatcha, the worst MxPx album, is their best. Everyone knows their "best" is Life In General, and the actual best one is "Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo". feeding- gay-ayayaayayayyayayay. hey, don't touch me there! you're supposed to be christian! also, yes, while they may no longer claim to be punk...back when they were MXPX junior, they sure as shit did claim it. i remember when this band had a song called "Marilyn Manson Ate My Girlfriend"...clearly they were fucking awful from the get go feeding5000 - who ever claimed Relient K is punk? they dont claim the title themselves, and neither do their fans. OK, Enemy Will: I think that all those other sub-groups you mentioned are different, because they aren't the societal norm. See, the "average person", or at least that perception, in America is white, male, Christian, middle aged, politcally moderate, and middle-class. Punk is about rebellion, not acceptance. If this were about acceptance, it would have absolutely no allure for me. I sorta came into this subcultre because of my dislike of organized religion, dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a general dislike of everyone around me, especially those who are right now getting drunk, high, and laid. If punk were to accept everyone, then it wouldn't really be a subculture. But, yeah, Evengelism is certainly not rebellious. No matter how much they try to frame it as though they're "rebelling agianst secular culture" or something, having unwavering faith in an omniscient being is the epitome of conformity and, well, submission. I don't have too great an opinion of authority figures, and bowing in supplication, submitting to the will of an invisible thing and a guy who dies 2000 years ago seems more than a little bizarre to me. I know I ramble, and this doesn't really answer your argument, but yeah. (I'll bite.) "Gee, shouldn't Christians also be allowed to express themselves and their beliefs, while remaining subject to the same levels of tolerance and scrutiny that veganarchist* and meatheadcore bands are, within the free-thinking framwork of punk rock. Furthermore, everyone knows that MxPx's first album was both their best and most Jese-heavy." Doesn't this band have the same amount of guitarists as Bad Religion? RDRR. Scott just got pwn3d again. Surprise, surprise. Who wants to start the eternal "Jesus-punx" argument with me? Every thread about a Christian band needs at least one war of the ideologies. I'll do "con", as in, "Christian punk is not good for various reasons." I will elaborate if someone picks this up. creative album titles really arnt their thing this album is total shite, even worse than their last one. they know how to write a catchy ass song, and matt has a perfect pop punk voice and they're very tight live. but their lyrics are so cheesey, many of the songs are super pussified, and the whole christian undertones like that 11 minute long last song about dying and accepting jesus on your deathbed is super lame. I like this album, but not nearly as much as the few before it, i love relient k. Mmhmm did not sell 700,000 copies, dude. Try 350,000. i like mmmmmmmhmmmmmmhmmmmmhhmmmm by the crash test dummies Mmhmm did not sell 700,000 copies, dude. Try 350,000. I love this band, i enjoy this cd but not nearly NEARLY as much as mmhmm Eeek, run! i really liked Mmhmm for what it was.. a catchy pop album. the EP that followed it was solid too. |
