Relient K - Is for Karaoke
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Record Label: Mono vs. Stereo Records
With its K Is for Karaoke project, Relient K has proven yet again that it can take something people normally might be neutral toward and turn it into something that they will love. As controversial as this may be to bring up at the beginning of this review, I assure readers I don’t mean anything negative when I say most people don’t get excited about Christian bands. Now, I barely associate Relient K as a Christian band anymore – they have, for a long time now, been identified for writing really, really good pop songs – but this K Is for Karaoke release provides for an interesting parallel. Usually, a band’s fans won’t get stoked on an album of covers songs, but Relient K, and specifically versatile vocalist Matt Thiessen, pulls it off marvelously.
The first EP, released in June, contained the first seven covers present on the full-length release, titled Is for Karaoke. The 14-track full-length, for the purposes of clarity, will be what this review focuses on. The standouts from the first seven tracks were the pop sensations, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, and “Baby” by Justin Bieber. These two tracks are fun listens, as Thiessen’s pure vocals are great to hear singing these tracks. “Baby” has a hook that I’m sure every pop-punk fan has deemed a guilty pleasure at some point, and Relient K makes it okay to sing along.
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (Tears for Fears) is another highlight here, but when it comes to a covers record, the highlights are usually dependent on the listener’s personal relationship with the original songs. The Tears for Fears is one that reminds me heavily of when I was younger and my parents would play that song in that car all the time, and a similar relationship exists for the phenomenal rendition of The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight.” In fact, the rock covers are surprisingly some of the best on Is for Karaoke. Thiessen owns Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl” and Stone Temple Pilots’ “Interstate Love Song.” His best vocal performance, however, might be reserved for Toto’s “Africa.”
The Third Eye Blind cover of “Motorcycle Drive By” will certainly be a favorite among readers of this website, but Weezer’s “Surf Wax America” likely won’t be far behind. In the end, there isn’t much to complain about with Relient K’s Is for Karaoke. It’s a covers record – expectations are already neutral or lower than normal – and the band knocks it out of the park, giving listeners at least a handful of songs they can return to several times. Hearing Thiessen belt out the last chorus of “Baby” should be more than enough for the Relient K faithful until their next “real” release.
So many of these are just blah. Not good, not bad, just blah. No original spin on them, just boring covers. I'll always love Relient K, I just expect more.
Yeah, this album is okay. Not great. But decent.
Also, the cover of One Headlight is my least favorite on the album. Changed it too much, lost it's charm.
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I've not listened to this, and I probably won't. Honestly, I would hope for better/more popular song choices. Most are fringe-memorable ("Everybody Wants to Rule the World) or just annoying ("Baby," "Girls Just Want To Have Fun").
There are a lot (maybe half) that I haven't even heard of, and, "Surf Wax America," is the only one I was kind of intrigued by, since I owned that album of Weezer's.
I own all of their full-lengths and they've grown up with me but now that I have bills to pay and I don't just buy every single album I want anymore I'm not sure that these covers are interesting enough to me to buy it.. even though they're well-done and I love Relient K and all that. Maybe I'll just buy a couple like "Africa" from iTunes. I'll still jump on the next original full-length no question, though.
So many of these are just blah. Not good, not bad, just blah. No original spin on them, just boring covers. I'll always love Relient K, I just expect more.
That's how I feel. I thought they we're great covers - but that's because they recorded it so they sound exactly like the originals. It's when bands put a unique twist on a cover song that they really shine.
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