Former Christian rock band’s latest CD has been certified gold and is continuing to climb

Alan Sculley - The Detroit News 

Relient K certainly isn’t stagnant, but it seems to have found its groove. The band, whose latest CD “Mmhmm” has gone gold, performs at the State Theatre tonight with MxPx and Rufio.

Both Relient K and MxPx built early followings within the Christian music scene and have since crossed over into mainstream pop.

Relient K, in particular, has been on an upward arc. “Mmhmm,” the fourth CD, is the band’s second straight release to go gold and is selling slightly faster than the gold-certified 2003 CD “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right … But Three Do.”

Musically, “Mmhmm” finds the Canton, Ohio-based Relient K expanding on the punk-pop sound that originally defined the group. On songs such as “The One I’m Waiting For” and “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been,” Relient K goes for more of a hybrid sound, shifting between frenetic and more relaxed pure-pop sections.

Other tracks leave the pop-punk realm altogether. “Let It All Out” is a piano-laced ballad, while “Which To Bury, Us Or The Hatchet,” even uses a banjo along with piano in quieter sections that alternate with that song’s hard rocking moments.

Since the release of “Mmhmm,” Relient K has entered a new phase — the band’s original bassist Brian Pittman has left. The band now is comprised of original members: singer/guitarist Matt Thiessen, guitarist Matt Hoopes and drummer Dave Douglas as well as newer members, bassist John Warne and guitarist John Schnek.

While pleased with the sound of the new lineup, Thiessen, in a recent phone interview, says the group hasn’t been able to take full advantage of the beefed up new lineup in concert.

“We’ve had three days of practice with everybody since January because we’ve been on the road so much,” he says.

“I’m actually a little frustrated at our schedule, because I really wanted some time to rehearse before this tour so we could actually start giving John (Schnek) some key parts and organ and stuff like that. But we just haven’t been able to pull rehearsal time together.”

But, he says having two or three guitars helps the band sound more like its records.

The band MxPx also seems satisfied with the musical growth shown on its current CD, “Panic.”

The CD is the Bremerton, Wash., band’s sixth full-length studio release, and singer Mike Herrera, in a press release accompanying “Panic,” said the record comes at an important point in that group’s career.

“We were either going to slowly die or do something extraordinary, dig deeper than we ever have before,” Herrera said.

Alan Sculley is a freelance writer. You can reach him at alanlast word@earthlink.net.