The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek

The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
Studio album by
Relient K
ReleasedAugust 28, 2001
StudioYellow Studios (Canton, Ohio)
GenreChristian pop punk[1]
Length55:01
LabelGotee
ProducerMark Lee Townsend
Relient K chronology
The Creepy EP
(2001) 		The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
(2001) 		Employee of the Month EP
(2002)
Alternative cover
The Gold Edition of the album, with the special gold slip cover
Singles from The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
  1. "Less Is More"
    Released: 2001
  2. "Pressing On"
    Released: 2001
  3. "For The Moments I Feel Faint / Those Words Are Not Enough"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Cross Rhythms[3]
Jesus Freak Hideout[4]
Melodic [5]

The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (often shortened to Anatomy) is the second full-length album released by the Christian rock band Relient K. It was released on August 28, 2001, and peaked at No. 158 on the Billboard 200. On June 26, 2006, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the United States. The cover of the original release is similar to that of the 1999 Ramones release Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology.

The album continues the band's liberal use of pop culture references (such as the song "I'm Lion-O," which is about the popular TV series Thundercats).[6] Song themes range from pop culture to Christian themes—growth in faith ("Pressing On"), backsliding ("What Have You Been Doing Lately?"), worship ("Those Words Are Not Enough," "For the Moments I Feel Faint," and "Less Is More")[6]—and social themes—such as racism and persecution ("Failure to Excommunicate"), judgementalism ("Down in Flames")—to making excuses or blaming others for one's own faults ("Maybe It's Maybeline").[6] There is also a song about one's experiences in high school ("Sadie Hawkins Dance").

Gotee Records released a "Gold Edition" of this album on October 31, 2006, along with the release of a "Gold Edition" of Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do on the same day. The Gold Edition of this album has remixed and remastered in a style similar to Mmhmm (the album was remixed by the same people who mixed Mmhmm) and it has a music video for the song "Pressing On".

  1. ^ Kielich, Kris (November 30, 2015). "Relient K Endures with Catchy Pop-Punk Sound". The Buffalo News. The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Cross Rhythms review
  4. ^ Jesus Freak Hideout review
  5. ^ Winberg, Pär (April 18, 2002). "Relient K - The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 750–751. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.