Last Friday, Relient K at TLA

So last week my girlfriend and I went with my family into Philly to see Relient K play at The Theater of the Living Arts. The bands Barcelona and Copeland opened for them. I missed Barcelona but my brother said they were decent. I wasn't a fan of Copeland though and after they played one song I couldn't wait for Relient K to play. Once they came on it was awesome. We all had a great time and they played some songs they don't normally play. They covered Weezer's Island in the Sun, they played Under the Sea from Little Mermaid with the lead singer Matt Thiessen playing a steel drum. They also played a few of their new songs off of their new album Forget and Not Slow Down. The album just came out this Tuesday. You can listen to it here. This is my review:

1. Forget And Not Slow Down: Awesome mix of electric and acoustic guitar. Great lyrics as always and good melodies. I liked the dynamics and the build at the end of the song to the last chorus.

2. I Don't Need A Soul: Starts out loud then mellows down for the verse. I really like the drum sound in this one. It's a really tight rhythm. The keyboards during the first verse are great as well.

3. Candlelight: Great intro and it just gets better when the vocals come in. I love the lyrics and the melody ans obviously the vocals are incredible. Matt Thiessen always impresses me with his smooth vocals. The chorus is awesome. This song has to be one of my favorites on the album.

4. Flare: Really mellow and relaxed. This would definitely put me to sleep if it was longer, it's only a minute. I find myself singing this song after hearing it, it's pretty catchy. This kinda serves as a transition song. I like this song a lot too.

5. Part Of It: Full band sound on this one. Electric guitar has some great riffs and the drums sound full. I like how it mellows down for a bridge near the end. It would get pretty boring if they didn't add some volume dynamics.

6. Outro: Part Of It blends right into this song. It's got a really cool delayed muted guitar plucking sound. Also the vocal effects sound really cool. This is another short one at only 1:35. I like it better than Part Of It though. They also have a really good piano sound.

7. Therapy: Another one of my favorites on the album. They played this live at the concert on Friday. Really tight snare sound when the drums come in. Also the piano sounds great. Matt Thiessen's vocals sound great right away and the melody of the chorus is catchy and awesome. The lyrics of the verses are really meaningful as well. The breakdown with just the guitar and kick drum are really cool and when the vocals come in it sounds amazing. Then they go right into a chorus with just piano and drums. The dynamics of this song are some of the best on the album.

8. Over It: Starts off with just vocals and electric piano. Then acoustic piano comes in and takes over. Most of this song is piano, drums and vocals. They use an awesome combination of electric and acoustic piano.  The chorus and bridge are great on this one. This song is another one of my favorites.

9. Sahara: This song is up tempo and a lot heavier than the rest of the album. Really cool lead guitar riffs. Also there are many other singers besides just Matt Thiessen.

10. Oasis: This is basically an intro to Savannah. It's pretty cool and has plucked strings and a cello. It blends right into Savannah.

11. Savannah: Awesome plucked strings to start it. Incredible vocals when the verse begins. Everything about this song is amazing and it is probably my absolute favorite on the album. It never gets boring to me with great dynamics and an incorporation of a lot of different instruments. The vocals over the plucked strings is awesome. Just listen to this song and you'll love Matt Thiessen.

12. Baby: Savannah blends right into this song and it's a nice ending to Savannah. The effect on the vocals is fitting and I like how it ends with just unaffected vocals and guitar.

13. If You Believe Me: Awesome build up for the intro adding guitar and drums slowly. I like the lyrics on this one a lot. Relient K always knows how to drop down and use great volume dynamics and this song is no exception. Cause I think this song would get boring if they didn't get quieter sometimes.

14. This Is The End: This song starts out with just piano and vocals but ends up being a pretty loud rocking song. The next track is the same melody and everything but more mellow and just piano and vocals. I like the next version better.

15. (If You Want It): This song is very soothing and mellow. I like this song a lot and there are some strings in the background in the second verse. It's a great song and I heard it live on Friday night and it was awesome.

16. Terminals (Amazon Exclusive): Cool synth leads. Awesome vocal melodies on the verses. The beat is very electronic. I like it but I'm glad Relient K doesn't always implement digital sounds all the time. This song was written with Adam Young of Owl City. That explains the electronic vibe to it. Owl City uses a lot of synth and digital drums.