Pop-punk is a quirky little genre. How the hell do you define it? Blink 182, Sum 41, New Found Glory? OK, so I think we have defined it fairly well, but say hello to the new kids on the block, Reliant K. After putting out two other records they unleashed ‘The Anatomy Of Tongue In Cheek’ on an unsuspecting public last year. The review may be a little late, but if you’re looking for a very late Christmas present for that special person they maybe this is it. The Christian four piece play their own distinct blend of poppy-punky melodies and with seventeen tracks cramming their way onto the CD you get value for money right…
The album kicks off with ‘Kick Off’ a quirky start to the album, and with it lasting less than 30 seconds it isn’t taking itself seriously, but it is a cracking little number to open up with. ‘Pressing On’ is next up and is very bouncy, cheery and happy… and you get the impression it is gonna be one of those albums with a high ‘cheese’ factor. ‘Sadie Hawkins Dance‘ is an interesting little song with a lovely bit on the chorus which the live crowd will enjoy, but the song drags on a bit to long, leaving you a little annoyed as you have twelve more of them to go. Next up is one of the highlights of the album ‘Down in Flames‘. A heavy drum intro is followed by the pace being picked up nicely which is complemented by a good slow of the tempo for certain parts. ‘Maybe It’s Maybeline’ is a pickle of a song and unfortunatly for the quartet another song which doesn’t quite come together. With a riff not to dissimilar to a certain Ataris number the song never really goes anywhere. ‘Breakdown’ is an improvment with an irrelevant look at a car breaking down funnily enough. God bless 21st century punks! ‘Those words are not enough’ is a slow chugging ballad with another album highlight coming up next in the form of ‘For the moments I feel faint’. It’s acoustic, it’s about the big guy upstairs and it is a quite beautiful song.
Hitting the halfway mark on the album and you feel a little floundered about it all. Some songs are well structured and thought out, others leave you heading for the skip button, but most are too long which is where the band seem to be going wrong. Remember ‘Thundercats’? I hope you do, cause ‘I’m Lion-O’ is dedicated to the eighties cartoon. ‘Tis a good song as well! ‘What have you been doing lately’ is bloody awesome. Reminding you of textbook MxPx the lyrics are clever and arrangments sublime. The less said about ‘May the Horse Be With You’ the better. ‘Rest is upto You’ picks up the quality ever so slightly again but the song honestly never really grabs your attention. ‘Failure to Excommunicate’ sees the band in rather more bitter form with a great intro and a darker feel. ‘Less is More’ ends the seventeen track album on an esteeemd note.
There really is nothing wrong with Reliant K – they have all the ingredients to go on and become a great popular band. Far be it from a nobody like myself to tell the band where they are going wrong, but if they could eradicate some of the more meaningless songs and cut the amount of time certain songs last, it would help them a great deal. Buy the album if you like your punk sugary and polished… otherwise I suggest leaving it on the shelf.
Jay