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.
The collection debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, selling 20,000 copies in its first week.
Contents
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.
The Nashville Tennis EP (whose title is a pun on Nashville, Tennessee) 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.
The Bird and the Bee Sides is a collection of rarities or unreleased demos from earlier in the band's career. Thiessen said that the release was to give the band "a little breathing room" before working on their next album.
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?'."
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. The album artwork was also revealed that same day and the scavenger hunt ran from June 16 to June 30 on their MySpace page. 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. 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. Released on July 1, the release celebrates Relient K's 10 year history.
Critical reception
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." 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." Alternative Addiction said the EP "isn't a bad listen but it's not a definitive set for the band either."
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." 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."
Awards and nominations
The Birds and the Bee Sides won the Covenant Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.