Relient K. Hawk Nelson. Stellar Kart. The Afters. These four bands are in the genre of Christian alternative rock/pop. They are all spectacular bands that should be mentioned when that genre is brought up. A band that some people may forget is FM Static.
FM Static is the side project of Thousand Foot Krutch lead singer Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine. The band has released two albums, What Are You Waiting For? and Critically Ashamed. Both albums are worth having and worth listening to over and over again.
The band began with the release of What Are You Waiting For? in 2003. Starting off with a reference to making wishes on shooting stars (“Three Days Later”) and ending with a soft ballad to a girl (“Hey Now”), What Are You Waiting For? reminds me a lot of The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek from Relient K. It’s fun and lively with enough spiritual references to remind listeners who they believe in. “Crazy Mary” is the lead singer asking God if he should talk to the girl about Him. My favorite is “Definitely Maybe,” an ode to a girl whose boyfriend is “shady, dates another girl named Katie.” McNevan is nervous about talking to her because of this, but he wonders when the boyfriend will “relaize that she means a lot more to me.” Other highlights include “The Notion,” “October,” and the aforementioned “Hey Now.” The band shot a music video for “Definitely Maybe.”
Three years later, after Thousand Foot Krutch recorded and toured for The Art of Breaking, McNevan and the band put out Critically Ashamed. “Flop Culture” includes references to Michael Jackson, Rolling Stone and Janet. A great line is when McNevan says that when ”William Hung and music had no relation” was a good time. The next classic is the sorrowful tune “Tonight.” McNevan sings about a girl who left him, reminiscing about the great times they had together. Following that is two fun tracks about girls, meeting in the action/adventure aisle in “The Video Store,” and thinking about the “Girl of the Year.” Last is “Moment of Truth,” which I have pretty much memorized. Great song.
FM Static is coming out with a new album by the end of the year, titled Dear Diary. McNevan has said that the record “is a concept record, so it tells a story from beginning to end.” I’m psyched. I’m not sure when it’s coming out. The article the above quote was taken from said that the album should be released sometime before Christmas.
Hopefully very soon.
