Grace Hotel
  Overall rating: +++

Album Reviews

I find it ironic that the only words in the first track on this cd are "Here's the kickoff. Hope you're not sick of Relient K or all the songs we play, 'cause then you'll want to throw our CD away." HA! I must be a masochist because I actually enjoy some of the music on here.....but I'm ahead of myself.  On this one, everybody's favorite Christian pop-punk quartet does the exact same thing again. With one KEY difference---the kitsch that made about half the first cd bearable has been swapped for lesser moments of kitschiness at best, and moments of absolute stupidity at worst. This worst category includes May The Horse Be With You, which not only possesses no moments of humor, but also possesses very little in the department of melody. This may be the worst song in my personal collection truth be told.

Fortunately, all is NOT lost....there are some ok-to-good songs here. Sadie Hawkins Dance is amusing...plus, it's nice to see a total dork win. Gives me hope :P Maybe It's Maybelline, while being absolutely stupid, does feature good harmonies....say, that really is Relient K's best feature. They've got some AWESOME harmonies for a pop-punk band that offers the listener very little else. But back to Maybe It's Maybelline. The lyrics are incredibly bad, but somehow the harmonies elevate it from "bad" to "one of three songs GOOD enough by Relient K standards to mention." The third one is Breakdown, which is my personal favorite on this one. The lyrics are so-so, but man, the harmonies.....it's probably my favorite Relient K song.

I wish I could tell you that the other songs are good, but they all range from unmemorable to unmentionable if you follow here. Not what I'm looking for when I need more than background music for a really fun evening I had once up at the school gym when a bunch of us got together and chilled and ate and Leah and I played basketball and that was fun and it was like one of the best evenings I had and she got nailed in the NOSE by a kickball later on and we all laughed and.......this moment of adolescence brought to you by.........TRANSAMERICO!

~ Kevin Baker

  Relient K is known for it's whimsically twisted music. They have and display a serious sense of humor. Take for instance the song "Kickoff. To paraphrase, 'I hope you like us or you will be using this CD as a Frisbee.'

Musically, Relient K is to Christian Music what Green Day is to secular music. Most of their songs are just for fun, but they connect and young listeners will catch the groove. "Sadie Hawkins Dance" is a stand out track that's just for fun. "Down In Flames" however, is a bit (understatement) more in depth. Telling a story of Christian's pointing the finger at other Christian's and Non-Christian's alike, condemning each other and evoking a "Christian civil war."

This sophomore release from Relient K is an important turning point for the band. Maintaining their "Tongue In Cheek" style, yet maturing in proclaiming their faith through music.

~ Ken W.