More Reliable than Tom Petty?

Tenacious D ain't got nothin on Relient K. The Christian-rock band with a purposely misspelled name to avoid copyright infringment has only been around for 12 years or so, but when I first heard about them a few months ago, I felt like I had completely missed the party. Everyone seemed put off by their religious spin on what I can generally describe as some of the most clever music I have heard in a really long time. Have you heard of them? You probably have, since I seem to be the only one that hasn't.

Right, but this post isn't one to praise their creativity, it's more to defend the one part of their music that might be a little bit too "relieble." I'm talking, of course, about the 4-chord structure the band adheres to more tightly than that wierd vegan-grain thai-fry my roomate cooks sticks to the dirty dishes. E, and the open variants of A, B, and C# are the culprits, and between the multiple permutations of this group and moving a capo around the neck of the guitar, it's present in ALL of the acoustic songs and many of the lesser-played ones. It's not enough to label them as a one-trick pony though (cue song, May the horse be with you), because it's not what they're displaying in the song. It's more like the foundation, and it's understandable that you'd reuse a fantastic foundation because hey, it worked last time, and no one sees the foundation of a building except an appraiser anyway!

Keeping up with this metaphor, the walls of the house are the lyrics, clever and easy to sing along to. A catchy drum beat is the attractive garden in the front and the electric guitars are the pleasent neighbors. I suppose the harmonies could be less common, but that is certainly a personal preference. Let's just say it's a unique lawn ornament that some people think is guady.

If you've never heard RK, then let me suggest a few songs: they're a really wide variety of styles, so listen to more than one if you don't like the first one! I tried to avoid the ones that everyone knows (from the radio) so that you could have a fresh taste.

Recommended K:

High of 75

Mood Rings

I'm Lion-O

Silly Shoes

Forward Motion
Curl Up and Die
Here I Go
Sadie Hawkins Dance
Must Have Done Something Right