''Air for Free'' is the eighth studio album by

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...

, released on July 22, 2016, through

Mono vs Stereo Mono vs Stereo is an independent record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded in 2003 as an imprint of Gotee Records. While Gotee signs mostly rap, hip-hop, and pop-rock artists, Mono vs Stereo leaned more towards indie music. Hi ...

. The album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, "Bummin'", was released on April 13, 2016. It is the first album since ''

Five Score and Seven Years Ago ''Five Score and Seven Years Ago'' is the fifth studio album by Christian rock band Relient K. It was released on March 6, 2007, and is the first full-length album by the band to feature bassist John Warne (replacing founding member Brian Pit ...

'' (2007) to feature drummer Dave Douglas, though he is not credited as an official member. It also features the return of producer

Mark Lee Townsend Mark Lee Townsend is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer best known as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk and as the long-time producer for Christian rock band Relient K. Townsend's career started as a member, s ...

following his absence on ''

Collapsible Lung ''Collapsible Lung'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Relient K. To date, it is their only album not to be produced or co-produced by Mark Lee Townsend. Background and production In May 2012, the group posted that they were wor ...

'' (2013).

Release and promotion

A week before its official release, ''Air for Free'' was streamed in its entirety on

Pandora Radio Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by Sirius XM Holdings based in Oakland, California, United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the "Music Genome Project" — a means of classifying indiv ...

. In support of the album, Relient K played an album-release show in their home state of Ohio on July 23, 2016, with Cardboard Kids opening, and later embarked on the Looking for America Tour with

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

. The tour ran from September 16, beginning in Denver, Colorado, through November 26, concluding in San Francisco, California.

Commercial performance

''Air for Free'' debuted at its peak of No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and also No. 1 album on the

Top Christian Albums Chart Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

, selling 9,000 copies in its opening week.

Critical reception

The album was met with critical acclaim. Writing for Jesus Freak Hideout, Michael Weaver states, "''Air for Free'' could be described as what ''Collapsible Lung'' should've been"; in a similar vein, Cortney Warner declares that the album "proves the band is far from 'has been' status, and continues to create fresh, thoughtful music that anyone can enjoy." In his review for CM Addict, Michael Tackett says, "''Air for Free'' is lyrically and musically a welcome return to form for Relient K." Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Neil Z. Yeung called the album a "lush and joyful affair" featuring a "sunny, creative blend of indie rock and contemporary pop."

Track listing

;Vinyl

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Relient K *

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...

– vocals, acoustic piano, programming, guitars,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, trumpet *

Matt Hoopes Matthew "Matt" Ryan Hoopes is an American musician, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, most known as the lead guitarist of Relient K. Hoopes has played lead guitar and provided backing vocals for Relient K since 1998 and is one of two constant m ...

– keyboards, guitars,

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ma ...

, trumpet, Boss HC-2 percussion synth, backing vocals Additional musicians *

– guitars, bass, backing vocals * Bill Mitchell – additional guitars * Dave Douglas – drums, backing vocals * Tom Breyfogle – drums, percussion * Roger Bissell – trombone * Brandon Calderon – trombone * Jake Germany – Boss HC-2, additional backng vocals * AJ Babcock – additional backing vocals * Austin Cunningham – additional backing vocals * Tiffany Fernandez – additional backing vocals * Lisa Goe – additional backing vocals * Billy Raffoul – additional backing vocals Production * Mark Lee Townsend – producer, recording, mixing (6, 11) * Brandon Calderon – recording assistant * Seth Morton – recording assistant * Steve Marcantonio – mixing (1-5, 7–10, 12–16) * Tom Breyfogle – editing * David A. Terry – mastering * Jake Germany – art direction, design * Josh Ness – photography * Brandon McGowan – graphics * Dawn Hepp – management * Kevin Spellman – management

Charts

Release history

Sources:

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, SMLXL Vinyl

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 albums Relient K albums Albums produced by Mark Lee Townsend Mono vs Stereo albums