Relient K

“Apathetic” (Capitol/Gotee)

Compare to: Something Corporate, MXPX, Blink-182

Relient K has become gargantuan, barely able to crank out new material fast enough to appease the hordes of hungry fans. In the midst of touring in support of its last release, “Mmhmm,” the band took the time to write four brand-spanking-new songs and intertwine them with three acoustically re-recorded favorites to create the “Apathetic” EP.

As far as the music is concerned, RK fans will most likely have mixed opinions. With “Mmhmm,” the band left many of its hilarious antics and nostalgic lyrics by the wayside in exchange for a more grown up, witty sound driven more by piano and lyrics of a serious nature. This EP follows that trend. The first two songs are brand new, and they rock hard.

Numerous bands have combined guitar, piano and emotional lyrics to try and emulate the ideal radio-pop sound. That’s pretty much what is done here, only for some inexplicable reason, Relient K does it with a stylistic grace that definitely makes them a diamond in the rough.

After the first two tracks, the disc slows down into acoustic renditions of classics including “Be My Escape” and “Over Thinking.” When stripped of their candy-coated production, the songs almost sound better than their original versions. Aside from that, the disk also has very cool album art, some of the most original in quite some time. Since the disk only costs $5 to $10, RK fans everywhere should easily be able to snag a copy and indulge in all of its undiluted musical goodness.

Buy it

– Dan McClanahan