Relient K

Relient K originated in Canton, Ohio during 1998 and entered the ranks of Christian punk-pop acts such as MxPx, Ghoti Hook, and Slick Shoes through the self-titled debut issued in 2000, where infectious hooks met irreverent edge alongside religious themes. dc Talk guitarist Mark Townsend produced that first album, which listed vocalist/guitarist/pianist Matt Thiessen, guitarist Matthew Hoopes, bassist Brian Pittman, and drummer Stephen Cushman among its members. David Douglas replaced Cushman before the year ended, after which the group issued The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek in August 2001. That release moved 300,000 copies while the quartet maintained its ascent by completing nearly 200 North American concerts prior to December. Their third album, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do, entered Billboard's Top 200 at number 38 upon its spring 2003 arrival. Recording of a fourth effort began without delay, yielding MMHMM, which lead singer Thiessen and Townsend produced and Tom Lord-Alge mixed before Gotee/Capitol released it in November 2004. First-week sales exceeded 51,000 units, placing the album at number 15 on the Top 200 and at number one on the Christian albums chart. Gold status arrived next, the band's third consecutive album to reach that mark, as singles "Be My Escape" and "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" gained traction on modern rock radio and MTV.

Pittman departed following MMHMM's release, later joining Inhale/Exhale, while John Warne, formerly of Ace Troubleshooter, handled bass on tour and became a permanent member in 2005. That same year Jonathan Schneck joined as a third guitarist, also contributing banjo and bells, expanding the lineup to a quintet. Relient K continued extensive touring behind MMHMM and issued the Apathetic EP in November 2005 to sustain interest while preparing the next full-length. Five Score & Seven Years Ago, their fifth album in seven years and largely produced by Howard Benson of My Chemical Romance and Less Than Jake renown, appeared in early March 2007. The band immediately launched another national run that included spring dates with Mae and Sherwood, then delivered the holiday collection Let It Snow Baby... Let It Reindeer that fall, incorporating several tracks from the prior seasonal release Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand. Douglas announced his exit in October to focus on side project Gypsy Parade and was succeeded in early 2008 by Ethan Luck, who performed with the group on that year's Warped Tour. The Bird and the Bee Sides, a B-sides collection packaged with The Nashville Tennis EP, arrived in July. Their sixth studio album, Forget and Not Slow Down, followed in 2009.

Two seven-song covers EPs, K Is for Karaoke, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, surfaced in 2011 and were later merged into a single LP that presented versions of tracks originally by Cyndi Lauper, the Wallflowers, Cake, Toto, and Stone Temple Pilots. New original material waited until 2013; during those sessions Luck exited, and David Douglas returned to the drum chair a couple of months afterward. The resulting seventh album, Collapsible Lung, emerged that summer and reached number 16 on the Billboard 200. Their eighth effort, produced by Mark Lee Townsend and titled Air for Free, also performed strongly, featuring the single "Look on Up" and debuting at number 44 on the Billboard 200 while topping the Christian chart.