CD Review: Collapsible Lung by Relient K

What do you do when a band grows up?  Everybody has a favorite band that has been around long enough to go through multiple band members or multiple different styles, or even both.  When it works well, a band can stick around in the music industry for as long as it pleases.  A band like Blink 182, for example, has significantly changed it's lyrical stylings throughout it's career, and has been rewarded for it with multiple generations of music fans feeling like Blink is "their band."  Even a band that is changing musical styles can make it work very well for them if they do it right.  My personal favorite, dc Talk, went from early 90's rap artists to mainstream rock, and it worked for them.  Most people probably avoid the early rap stuff, but Jesus Freak is still one of the top Christian songs of all time, and that style propelled them to platinum record success.

But it doesn't always work well.  Of course, we don't think about the failures as much, because...well, they're failures.  Once a band "grows up" in a way that alienates their fans, it's difficult to come back from that.  This seems like an appropriate transition into Relient K's latest album.  You see, Relient K's latest release definitely has that potential.  This is a "grown-up" record, and not everyone will like it.  This disc absolutely runs the risk of alienating the fan base.

That sounds very negative, and I don't intend it to be.  It's just that, in the spirit of the album, I want to be as honest as possible.  You see, this album is just that: Honest.  Throughout the CD, you'll notice some surprising lyrics, things you wouldn't expect an artist to say about themselves.  For example, PTL, laments the fact that lead singer Matt Thiessen has not yet figured out how to "be a full time man."  The upbeat Can't Complain points out in the most pronounced moments of the track, "I know life is gonna suck some days."  Much of the disc focuses on lost love and failed attempts at love.  There are honest moments throughout these tracks, and they're not always the most comfortable moments.

Aside from moments that might feel uncomfortable to the listener lyrically, there's a lot of potential for uncomfortable moments musically, too.  This simply doesn't sound like a Relient K album, at least not at first listen.  Songs like Boomerang and the previously mentioned PTL sound incredibly different from what you've come to expect from Relient K.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, but there are songs on this disc that just sound out of place in the discography of the band.  At their best, they're a new, fresh take from a band looking to keep progressing forward and not stay stuck in the same rut.  At their worst, they're cheap rip-offs of more successful mainstream tracks.

None of this is to say that this is a bad album, mind you.  It's merely a "fair warning" here.  Expecting the same old, same old Relient K on this disc would be a mistake, and it would be a mistake that kept you from enjoying some of the highlight tracks.  The opening of the disc, Don't Blink, is a solid track that gives you the Relient K sound of old, just a bit more matured.  Lost Boy is an enjoyable track which sounds like a track you would expect from the same band who gave you a track like Must Have Done Something Right.  And That's My Jam will be a massively fun summertime track for anyone who enjoys a walk down 90's pop and alternative music history.

All in all, this is not a bad disc.  It's different, but it's not bad.  To be fair, however, there is something missing, and personally, I think it's why this disc may not resonate in the way it could or should.  This album is missing the most important portion of what has made previous Relient K CDs great: God.  There is very little reference to God in this album, and it shows throughout a lot of these songs.  It's clear through the lyrics that Thiessen is still working through some stuff with women, but it's also clear he's not getting anywhere because he seems to be shutting God out of the process.  Forgive me for turning a music review to the spiritual realm, but let's be fair: Relient K is at its best when it's dealing with two things: Deep spiritual truths (Deathbed, Be My Escape, Who I Am Hates Who I've Been) or just having fun and being a bit silly (In Love With The 80's, Pink Tux To The Prom, Breakdown).  The problem that this Collapsible Lung runs into is that neither of things really happen on this disc.  I'm perfectly fine with a band maturing lyrically and switching up the musical style when it fits the songs.  But the problem comes when a band loses its identity.  Remember that talk of Blink 182 earlier?  Yes, the same band that did What's My Age Again? has become a generational-gap-defying band, and it's because they grew up.  However, it's not just that they grew up, it's that they stayed true to who they were.

This may be the biggest issue Relient K is running into.  It seems like Thiessen is running into an identity crisis.  The music is good, but it's different.  The lryics are good, but not great.  And God is almost fully missing, which is absolutely a mistake for a band that's at its best with God in the music.  So where does this leave this disc?  Well, if you're a listener who hasn't liked the direction the band has been going in recent years and is going to be hurt by the lack of spirituality, this disc could fall anywhere from a 4/10 to a 7/10.  If you are a fan of the musical changes that have been happening (Remember, Forget And Not Slow Down was also pretty different from previous Relient K efforts), and if you can appreciate the lyrical honesty, you'll probably go anywhere from a 7/10 to a 9/10.  So where do I fall?  Well, I'll split the difference.  This is mainly because the album, taken for the album itself, is not a bad album.  The music is good, and the lyrics are honest.  Most importantly, I don't think the "old" Relient K is dead yet.  There are hints throughout this disc that they're still in there, somewhere.  Viewing this as Thiessen's "rebellious teenage years" is not a bad view of this disc.  Some good comes out of it, some crap comes out of it and, most importantly, the teenager eventually comes out of it too.  I think there are signs of good things to come in this disc, and they may not be enough to make this album awesome, but there's enjoyment here nonetheless.

7.25 out of 10

CD Review: Rise by Skillet

Concept albums are risky business.  When a band creates a "concept album" there are plenty of ways it can fail.  One of the biggest is the listener not "getting it."  If you don't understand the story the album is telling, you may not understand the songs at all.  Even if you do, the songs may not be able to stand on their own, and then you've got a disc full of sub-par songs that tell a story, but no one cares.  Moreover, because you're telling a story with all these songs, seamless transition from song to song is a necessity.  Like any great story, the concept album needs to have a great flow to it.  Now, despite the risks, a successful album like this can become the highlight of a band's career.

Enter Skillet.  This band has become one of the top acts in Christian music today, and one of the bigger names in mainstream rock music as well.  After 2006's Comatose went gold, 2009's Awake made the biggest splash to date, going platinum while pumping out multiple successful singles.  Now, 2013 rolls around, and Skillet comes along with their concept album, Rise.  According to the band, the concept of this disc is teenager coming-of-age story, trying to figure out who he is a world filled with problems.  This CD is the story of a battle from start to finish.  Because of that, it only feels appropriate to take each song in and break it all down, piece by piece.

The opening track, Rise, is the perfect opening track for a disc like this.  It sets the tone for what you're going to hear throughout.  It's edgy, and it's definitely a radio-friendly rock song.  And the end of the track is our first transitional element.  It comes out of nowhere, but it's a haunting ending that perfectly explains the next song (And the lead single), Sick Of It.  These two tracks work excellently back-to-back.  Both tracks are up-tempo, hard rock songs that give the feel of the rush of adrenaline in the opening moments of a fight (Or any competitive moment, really).

The disc calms down just a bit on the next track, Good Day To Be Alive.  It's a solid softer track, with a decent musical quality to back it up.  It's not a standout track, but it's got a good message behind it and fits the mold of the concept.  The operatic transitional element really makes Not Gonna Die Tonight pop, though.  This is definitely one of the highlight tracks of the disc.  It stands solidly on it's own, but it fits perfectly in the album, particularly in this spot.  This song grabs you and doesn't let go from start to end, and the guitar solo is an excellent added element to this track.

When I first saw the title of the next track, Circus For A Psycho, I immediately thought "Insane Clown Posse."  When I heard the opening 10 seconds, I thought I was about to hear a System Of A Down track.  Neither of these things hold true, of course, but it speaks to the oddity of this song.  It is above-average overall, but it's a bit off from normal Skillet standards.  It almost seems like a song designed more to highlight the (admittedly excellent) guitar skills than the lyrics or even the music as a whole.  This is one of those songs that works within the concept of the album but is thrown a bit out of whack otherwise.  That thought process actually works well as a transition to American Noise.  This track is on the same level as previous slower Skillet songs (The Older I Get comes to mind for me personally).  It's not particularly great, but I wouldn't call it terrible.  And this is one that is actually elevated by the concept of the album.  The transition into this one, the idea that this teen is just exhausted from this "psycho circus" he's been in, needs to take a breath and regroup, and that this song could be a motivator...it works surprisingly well.  Following this one, Madness In Me comes up next.  This one is a solid song, but in the grand scheme of things, it's an admittedly forgettable track.  It's another "fits well in the concept" type of song, and it does continue the story, but it doesn't do much more than that.

That brings us to the last half of the album.  This whole second half of the disc kind of fits together.  It is arguably the most overtly Christian material that Skillet has put out since Savior was a single.  There is no hiding the meaning on this half of the disc.  And it starts out right away with Salvation, which may be the standout track of the entire disc.  Giving Jen the reigns and having the female lead through the vast majority of the song is a great change of pace, but the message here is what makes this track stand out so much.  And it moves right into Fire And Fury, which actually feels like a bit of some old-school Skillet worship tracks.

Then there's My Religion.  This is the track that is most likely to be controversial, in more ways than one.  Let's get the obvious part out of the way: This one could easily be viewed by some Christians as a shot at Christianity.  Don't be that person.  This song is not a shot at Christianity as a whole or a shot at any particular section of Christianity.  What this song is is a hit right to the root of what this religion is supposed to be.  Debate the theology if you must, but it ultimately comes back to this: "You are my religion, my religion is You."  That being said, the other controversy could come from the music itself.  It's just so different from the usual Skillet sound, it's inevitably going to turn some people off.  I find it to be a good balance, because it's such different song as a whole, it feels right that it is so stylistically different.

The final two tracks on the disc, Hard To Find and What I Believe, are a good way to end out the disc.  Neither song is going to be the highlight moment, but both songs are solid, and they continue to speak to that overtly Christian message.  They close out this story in an excellent way.  These two songs feel like a fitting end to this disc.

Overall, Rise hits the mark.  there are a few minor missteps, but each song fits well into this concept.  The vast majority of the songs hold their own outside of the disc, and some are elevated to greater levels in conjunction with the tracks around them.  Much like other Skillet disc, not every song is a keeper, but a whole lot of it is.  This is a solid disc, and certainly qualifies as one of Skillet's best efforts.


Rating: 9 out of 10