The Bird and The Bee Sides
Artist: Relient K
Label: Gotee
URL: www.relientk.com
Time: 26 Tracks 70:59
 
Relient K are easily one of the most popular bands in both the world of mainstream rock and Christian rock. They have had an uncanny and unusual ability to write a song that becomes a standard of both College radio and Christian radio, often at the same time. So considering this fact, one has to wonder what material might be left off of their albums in order to keep the hits coming. If you were one of those people then you need to look no farther than Relient K’s newest release “The Bird and the Bee Sides.” 
 
This is a 26 song collection of outtakes, demos, and remixes. It also contains some new material as well. Now you might wonder how 26 songs has fit onto a single disc, and that is a good question. Some songs are only 20 to 30 seconds in length, while others are about four minutes in length. That variance totals a little over an hour and ten minutes worth of music. A very full album in today’s music market!
 
As with all Relient K releases there are several song titles that are a play on words and synonyms. Examples include “The Scene and Herd,” “Wit’s All Been Done Before” “The Vinyl Countdown” and “Jefferson Aeroplane” 
 
“The Scene and Herd” talks about integrity and being true to one’s self. 
 
“At Least We Made It This Far” takes on an acoustic pop/folk song sound in the vein of some of Fountains of Wayne’s acoustic based material. 
 
The aforementioned “Wit’s All Been Done Before” features Matthew Theissen’s essay to the music industry criticizing artists who simply try to copy popular recording artists in order to be successful themselves. Theissen does it in a humorous way drawing comparisons to Rivers Como and Weezer’s hit from this past summer “Pork and Beans.” 
 
“The Lining Is Silver” is one of those feel good songs of optimism that has made Relient K one of the best positive bands in the music industry right now. The peppiness and happy sound of this song is a direct contrast to “Curl Up and Die” which is an all acoustic guitar and piano ballad about how hard it can to watch a friend struggle with depression. 
 
“The Vinyl Countdown” is a very fun tribute to the days of listening to rock and roll on vinyl records. It also talks about how so many kids today don’t know about vinyl and how cool it is. It also features some funny lines like “These days all the vinyl’s are worthless/ Because DJ’s scratch them on purpose” and “These days kids they are so ignorant/They have no clue what to do with a seven inch/They say ‘it won’t play it’s my CD player’s fault’/I’ll take it to the park and play some Frisbee golf.” 
 
Another great set of lyrics comes from the song “The Stenographer” which features this witty set of lyrics: 
 
“Smithton-Weston Jr. was a son of gun/He pressed his nose up to my head/Yeah I was sweating bullets but I dodged the one/That was not as much sweat as was left/I still love you oh I still love you/Even though you want me dead.” 
 
Indeed this is overall a very fun album that features both witty, funny songs, and deeper darker songs that show Theissen and company’s maturity into one of the best rock bands making music today. 
 
James Morovich