The Bird and the Bee Sides

Last updated

The Bird and the Bee Sides
Thebirdandthebeesidestd2.jpg
EP by
ReleasedJuly 1, 2008
Genre
Length71:09
Label Gotee
Producer Mark Lee Townsend
Relient K chronology
Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer
(2007)
The Bird and the Bee Sides
(2008)
Forget and Not Slow Down
(2009)
EP cover
Relient K - The Nashville Tennis EP.jpg
The Nashville Tennis EP cover

The Bird and the Bee Sides is a double EP by the American band Relient K. It was released on July 1, 2008. The double EP was released on a single disc, containing both The Nashville Tennis EP and The Bird and the Bee Sides. It was their last release under Gotee Records, as the group had fulfilled their contract with the label. [1]

Contents

The collection debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, selling 20,000 copies in its first week. [2]

Background

The Bird and the Bee Sides was produced by Mark Lee Townsend and mixed by J.R. McNeely, recording at S-S-Studio in Spring Hill, Tennessee. [3]

The Nashville Tennis EP (whose title is a pun on Nashville, Tennessee) [4] includes 13 tracks of new material that allowed the band to explore their sound by channeling country and reggae influences, as well as feature compositions by band members other than Matt Thiessen and Matt Hoopes. [3]

The Bird and the Bee Sides is a collection of rarities or unreleased demos from earlier in the band's career. [3] [5] Thiessen said that the release was to give the band "a little breathing room" before working on their next album. [6]

Speaking about putting the collection together, Thiessen stated, "We were just trying to think of what our fans would want from a b-sides record [...] Along the way, the band decided to include some new tracks, a concept that quickly morphed into 'hey, why doesn't everybody in the band write a song?'." [3]

Release

On May 30, 2008, Relient K announced the release date for The Bird and the Bee Sides and held an online scavenger hunt for tracks that were cut from the EP. [7] [3] The album artwork was also revealed that same day and the scavenger hunt ran from June 16 to June 30 on their MySpace page. [8] [9] The clues lead to "Hope For Every Fallen Man", "Where Do I Go (Acoustic)", and "Between You and Me". Two more songs are intended to be released some time for the scavenger hunt, and were announced to be the demo of "I'm Lion-O" from the band's 1998 demo album All Work & No Play and the unreleased demo of "Sadie Hawkins Dance".

The group posted two songs from the EP, "The Lining Is Silver" and "The Scene and Herd" online for streaming on May 30, 2008. [10] Those who pre-ordered The Bird and the Bee Sides received two instant song downloads, "Up and Up" and "The Lining Is Silver", a Relient K and Gotee Records sticker pack, and a collector's-edition postcard. [11] Released on July 1, the release celebrates Relient K's 10 year history. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk.net (86%) [13]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Alternative Addiction Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Indie Vision Music7/10 [16]
IGN 7.1/10 [17]
Jesus Freak HideoutStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [18]
Punknews.orgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
Soul-Audio.comStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [20]

The Birds and the Bee Sides was met with positive reviews from music critics. Andree Farias of AllMusic described the recording as "an all-around nice gesture -- a more than generous gift to fans and an EP with one of the highest bang-for-buck ratios in the history of modern rock." [14] Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk stated, "The Nashville Tennis EP half showcases the band's ever-growing pop-based sound, steering further and further away from their initial punk-rooted style found on earlier records. The new material and the b-side collection are interesting to compare, as they both have a glossy production and sound wonderful, but are essentially counterparts in the dynamic they each present to the listener." [13] Alternative Addiction said the EP "isn't a bad listen but it's not a definitive set for the band either." [15]

Chad Grischow of IGN remarked, "it is hard to fault a band for wanting to give too much music to their fans, yet, it is exactly what taints Relient K's latest. The silly scraps on the later half of the effort cheapen the fantastic new cuts, which, in turn, highlight the disposable nature of the leftovers." [17] Josh Taylor of Jesus Freak Hideout wrote, "this is a very enjoyable collection of songs from a band that seems to continually outdo themselves, even when it comes to their between-album EPs. With so much to choose from, it'd be hard to not find something you liked." [18]

Awards and nominations

The Birds and the Bee Sides won the Covenant Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year. [21]

Track listing

The Nashville Tennis EP

All tracks are written by Matt Thiessen, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Where Do I Go from Here" 2:15
2."The Scene and Herd" 2:53
3."At Least We Made It This Far" 2:53
4."The Last, the Lost, the Least" (vocals by bassist, John Warne) John Warne 2:25
5."The Lining Is Silver" 3:41
6."There Was No Thief" (re-recorded version of "The Thief" from the Apathetic EP ) 3:22
7."No Reaction" (vocals by drummer, Ethan Luck) Ethan Luck 1:03
8."Curl Up and Die" 4:08
9."You'll Always Be My Best Friend" (lead vocals by guitarist, Matt Hoopes) Matt Hoopes, Thiessen1:39
10."There Was Another Time in My Life" 2:51
11."Beaming" 1:00
12."I Just Want You to Know" 2:57
13."Bee Your Man" (vocals by guitarist, Jonathan Schneck) Jonathan Schneck 1:38
Total length:32:51

The Bird and the Bee Sides

No.TitleOriginally fromLength
14."Up and Up (Acoustic)" Must Have Done Something Right EP and Five Score And Seven Years Ago (Wal-Mart exclusive)4:06
15."Wit's All Been Done Before" Employee of the Month EP 3:30
16."The Vinyl Countdown" The Vinyl Countdown 2:49
17."For the Band" Employee of the Month EP 4:15
18."Nothing Without You" The Vinyl Countdown 4:14
19."A Penny Loafer Saved Is a Penny Loafer Earned" Employee of the Month EP 2:19
20."Five Iron Frenzy Is Either Dead or Dying" The Vinyl Countdown 0:32
21."Five Iron Frenzy Is Either Dead or Dying (Wannabe Ska Version)" The Vinyl Countdown 0:41
22."Who I Am Hates Who I've Been (Acoustic)" Who I Am Hates Who I've Been (single) 3:18
23."Here I Go (Demo)"Previously unreleased2:34
24."The Stenographer (Demo)"Previously unreleased2:30
25."Jefferson Aeroplane (Demo)" The Creepy EP 3:58
26."Hope for Every Fallen Man (Acoustic)" Must Have Done Something Right EP and Five Score And Seven Years Ago (Best Buy exclusive)3:26
Total length:38:17
Bonus scavenger hunt tracks
No.TitleOriginally fromLength
1."Where Do I Go From Here? (Acoustic)"Previously unreleased2:54
2."Fallen Man" Must Have Done Something Right (single) 3:47
3."Between You and Me" Freaked! 3:37

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. [22]

Charts

References

  1. Kaj Roth (June 4, 2008). "Relient K Get Ready To Share 'The Bird and The Bee Sides'". Melodic . Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  2. Katie Hasty (July 9, 2008). "Lil Wayne Back On Top Of The Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Relient K Celebrates 10 Years with 'The Bird and the Bee Sides'". CBN.com. Christian Broadcasting Network . Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  4. "Dear Everyone That Pays Attention To Our Band". Matthew Thiessen's Pack Of Wild Blogs. April 22, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  5. Matthew Thiessen (May 27, 2008). "Bird & Bee; Flight In Formation". matthewthiessen.blogspot.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  6. Terry DeBoer (October 9, 2008). "Relient K EP includes blend of old and new songs". MassLive . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  7. Jason Tate (May 30, 2008). "The Bird and the Bee Sides Tracklisting and Contest - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  8. Bryce Jacobson (May 30, 2008). "Relient K To Release Bee Sides EP". Driven Far Off. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  9. "Bird and Bee Sides Cover Art". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  10. "New Relient K Tunes". Punktastic. May 30, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  11. "Relient K: Pre-order The Bird and the Bee Sides". Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  12. "Relient K Celebrates 10th Anniversary with The Birds and the Bee Sides EP, Scheduled for July 1st Release on Gotee Records". Jesus Freak Hideout. June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  13. 1 2 Chris Fallon (June 30, 2008). "Relient K - The Bird and the Bee Sides - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Farias, Andree (July 1, 2008). "The Bird and the Bee Sides - Relient K : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Relient K - "The Bird And The Bee Sides" Review". Alternative Addiction . Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  16. Tyler H (October 6, 2008). "Album Review: Relient K - The Birds and The Bee Sides / The Nashville Tennis EP". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  17. 1 2 Grischow, Chad (July 18, 2008). "Relient K - The Bird And The Bee Sides Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Josh Taylor (June 29, 2008). "Relient K, "The Bird And The Bee Sides" / "The Nashville Tennis EP" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  19. "Relient K - The Bird and the Bee Sides". Punknews.org. July 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  20. "Soul-Audio » Album Reviews » Relient K". Soul-audio.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  21. "Covenant Awards 2009". Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
  22. The Birds and the Bee Sides (booklet). Relient K. Gotee Records. 2008. GTD70009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. "Relient K Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  24. "Relient K Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  25. "Relient K Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  26. "Relient K Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  27. "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard . Retrieved July 10, 2025.