Surprisingly, Let It Snow, Baby… Let It Reindeer starts off pretty straightforward, a mellow departure for Relient K. I fully expected Matt Theissen and company to tear it up from the very start (I own their previous Christmas outing). But they kept it pretty tame, luring you in and then, BAM!
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride” kick off what appears to be a mellow, parent-friendly version of Christmas carols. In fact, they’re grandparent-friendly for the most part, until the surprisingly depressing “Merry Christmas, Here’s To Many More” that sings, “Jesus Christ, I’m just blessed to know who you are.” Unfortunately, there’s no real joy there… It’s pretty sad!
“Angels We Have Heard On High” is from the first Christmas album and it blows the doors off what has otherwise been a mellow (and sometimes, morose) record. It’s sweet: the lyrics aren’t warped, but the tone goes into overdrive. From there, it’s the hardcore, on the attack pop-rock that Relient K brings to everything, with “Deck The Halls” and “12 Days of Christmas” getting the full treatment. Some might even say the irreverent (to tradition!) 12 Days… and I love every rocking minute of it.
“Silent Night/Away In A Manger” quiets down in true candlelight reverence, and the unique “I Celebrate The Day” and “In Like A Lion (Always Winter)” carry the same tone. Both of them are vintage Relient K—it’s just unfortunate that they only fit the tone of Christmastime because I’d like them all year round!
“Santa Clause Is Thumbing To Town” is pure hilarity (and vintage Relient K) but they want to keep everyone involved so they swing back to “Handel’s Messiah” takes something old (Handel’s Messiah) and amps it up Relient K-style. C’mon, can you really do any better than that? We’re back to the depressing, broken-hearted melodrama in “I Hate Christmas Parties,” which sounds pretty but is thoroughly depressing! “Boxing Day” has theological implications (and a nice message) but these guys have really fallen into the sad-sack category on a couple of these songs. It’s post-Christmas mellow-dom. “Christmas makes way for spring” is in fact a nice reminder that Easter is coming, but the lyrics are hopeful in content, but not tone.
And yes, the bonus track is a falsetto-versed “Good King Wenceslas.” Nice.
You want this album in your stocking, or even better, post-Thanksgiving. It’ll put you in the mood for the whole month.
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Personally, I loved the album! I have to agree with you about some of the songs, but if you think about, that pretty much sums up Reliant-K as a whole; they don’t do anything the way you expect them to, and I love them for it!