Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do (CD - 2003)

Relient K: Matthew Thiessen (vocals, guitar, piano); Matthew Hoopes (guitar, background vocals); Brian Pittman (bass); Dave Douglas (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Ryan Watts (vocals); Roby Roy Fingerhead (guitar, background vocals); DJ Manuel (programming); Adam Grimm, Jake Gridgeway, Ryan Nutter.

Recorded at Yellow Studios, Canton, Ohio.

TWO LEFTS was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album.

In an era where everything from R&B to heavy metal has a Christian subgenre, why not seemingly ubiquitous Blink 182-style pop-punk? Relient K has a reputation for providing just such a thing, but it's difficult to discern the overt Christian content on their third album TWO LEFTS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT. Mostly what's on offer are satiric observations filled with equal parts youthful punk attitude, cutting humor, and smart pop hooks. This being a properly postmodern band, pop-cultural references abound. "Mood Rings" namechecks a number of TV shows, while the ostensibly ironic "In Love With The '80s (Pink Tux to the Prom)" features a character obsessed with Tears for Fears. "College Kids," a sendup of the academic experience, sounds like a subject these Canton, OH guys also know something about, as they seem to effortlessly throw 50-cent words into their bracing rock charge to fine effect. minimize