What is happening with Relient K? (Potential reunion?, breaking hiatus?, coming out of retirement?, new music?. What's up?!)

If you have been around the internet for the past 10-15 years, you may have seen the name Relient K come up from time to time; whether it be from the early days of MySpace, Purevolume, and online chat rooms, to modern social tech with Facebook groups being all the rage these days in these odd times that we live in. Relient K have been in and out of the spotlight now for quite some time. The band has had major success in the early to mid 2000's, and even until now with their most recent output "Air For Free" hitting us way back in 2016, the band have become a unique outfit of pop punk and rock n' roll, having managed to gravitate towards that direction ever since their inception in 1998; giving fans old and new that sweet dose of spiritual infused pop punk and rock that is still well loved to this day.

While the band have remained dormant for the past few years; rumors have been circulating over the internet that a potential reunion of the band could be surfacing. Rumors recently started circulating on Reddit that the band are announcing something, which could potentially be show announcements and possibly new music. If these rumors are true and it's not just the internet pulling on the heartstrings of adoring fans, then this is big news that could potentially be huge for the band since their hiatus began in 2017.

Given the fact that concerts both indoors and outdoors are returning faster than anticipated, it begs the question as to why the band have waited this long to announce anything. Well, if prior rumors are confirmed to be true, then we could see the long-awaited return of one of the greatest pop punk bands of all time. Relient K ultimately needed a break in order to regroup and collect themselves so they're not burned out from both the touring lifestyle and from just being in a band in general.

Since the release of their valentines day themed EP "Truly Madly Deeply", we've been seeing less and less activity from the band as a whole, and given the fact that both of the Matt's are family men now, that is perfectly fine. Since that release we've seen other projects surface from Relient K's camp and those projects include Matt Hoopes' brand 1981 Inventions; a brand that works on guitar gear and other gear in that lane, and Matt Thiessen's solo project Matt Thiessen And The Earthquakes; a project that had laid dormant for many years until it resurfaced after Relient K's release "Air For Free", releasing "Wind Up Bird" in 2018 which featured a more eclectic americana rock sound compared to the indie rock and post-rock of Relient K's most recent (and at the moment final album) "Air For Free".

The band made a "semi" comeback in 2020 with the release of "Live", a collection of live EP's that have spanned from 2009-2016, and the greatest hits album "All Work And No Playlist" that was hand-picked by fans all across the world to create the record as sort of a glorified "concert setlist" in one collection.

Now here we are in 2021, and the potential of a Relient K reunion is becoming more of a reality every second. If the rumors are true, then this coming Monday will be a very special day for Relient K fans new and old. - Samuel Cook