Relient K – Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right… But Three Do

Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right…But Three Do, the third album from the young band known by the name of Relient K is an album which I find hard to review. It combines many different musical attributes to one CD in a total of 15 songs. The lyrically conscious band have made songs with a mix of silly and serious lyrics with a great balance to keep them all in order. They portray many events in life, and gets your attention without filling it up with swears and insults. A rare thing to see now-a-days. The beat can be heard as many things in this album, it can be fast, jumpy, catchy pop-punk tunes like parts of track 2, Mood Ring or a slowed down pace with soft drums and guitars like In Love With The 80s (Pink Tux To The Prom). Vocally, Matthew Thiessen does an amazing job, changing volume and aggressiveness depending on the rhythm on the beat, while always still be very evident. Rarely drowned out by the instruments.

I’m going to get this over and done with right now, track 12, Interlude, is completely and utterly useless. A major down point to the album, it brings the album to a stop at a very bad time. You still have three more songs to listen to, but after this little part of some kids talking to the band you have no need to carry on listening to the final three tracks. Which is misfortunate because some of those songs are really good. Now I’m done my ranting and raving about that horrible track, onto some good stuff.

Mood Rings, the second track on the album is a song which is very different for me. I hate it while love it at the same time. Lyrically, the song is superb. Getting emotional girls mood rings would be a good idea! The beat though, is something I can not get over. The beginning of the song is slow with a steady drum beat in the back. The vocals are soft and slightly annoying at this part, but they then pi ck it all up and I love it. A faster pace and harder tune, with vocals which are done in a much better fashion. They then go back to the slow beat again, another 30 seconds later they pick it all up again. I love the song when it is in the faster speed period, but find it hard to listen to when it is in the slow I find it slightly hard to listen to.

Forward Motion, track four, is a much better track in my mind. The beat is much more up-tempo and energizing. The vocals are incredibly catchy, throwing in some “whoa-o” always help get your attention a bit too. The chorus is something which I love, the bass is the most prominent instrument with Matthew’s vocals on overtop. College Kids is another song which stands out in my mind. A much faster song with a major drumbeat in it along with a heavy guitar riff. Lyrically, once again they are very catchy and they poke fun at college, it’s high prices and how it’s just not for everyone. A good song to put near the halfway point as it makes you want to hear more.

Gibberish (the shortest track excluding the interlude) is a interesting song. More then three quarters of the lyrics aren’t even real words. Now I find it impressive to see a band who can do that and still pull it off, and Relient K did.

This CD has many songs which reach the boundaries of many musical styles. Either fast paced songs or slowed paced songs, there is something for everyone. Personally though, I enjoy the fast paced ones much much more. The worst part of this album is that it grows old really fast. It’s good to listen to for a while, but after listening to it a couple times it gets old  and you tend to have the need to turn it off. A day or two afterwards you can start listening to it once again.