Relient K

Talk about being restless. Fresh off their formation in the late ’90s, Relient K delivered four albums in four years, leaving a trail of peppy pop-punk tunes in their wake. The accompanying Essentials set picks up the pieces and sorts through the group’s top songs, including the head-nod hooks of “Sadie Hawkins Dance,” the scale-climbing high notes of “Be My Escape,” the barbershop harmonies of “Wake Up Call,” and the relentless rhythm section of “I Don’t Need a Soul.”

Come to think of it, Relient K have far too many fan favorites to cram into one list, so our Next Steps keeps the underground hits coming, along with a couple of Christmas cuts.

Contrary to the Warped Tour-ready choruses of “I So Hate Consequences,” “Forward Motion,” and “More Than Useless,” there’s more to Relient K than twitchy tempos and massive hooks. For starters, there’s the steady disco-punk pulse that drives “The One I’m Waiting For” right alongside rambunctious riffs and Matt Thiessen’s melancholic melodies. Speaking of the singer’s sensitive side, it also shows up in the soft-lit acoustic guitar of “Getting Into You,” the snow-dusted balladry of “In Like a Lion (Always Winter),” and the piano-man confessions of “Let It All Out.”

Much like their pop-punk forefathers Mxpx, Relient K have obliterated the secular/Christian music line by delivering undeniably catchy albums — ones you’d have to be a complete buzz-kill to ignore. Which would explain why the Ohio-bred band earned three straight gold albums — The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek, Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right . . . But Three Do, Mmhmm — soon after their simple-but-satisfying self-titled debut. And while some artists would take it easy after a string of proven releases, Relient K haven’t stopped kicking out the jams, whether that means the sputtering drums and easygoing guitars of “Forget and Not Slow Down,” the triumphant choruses and frantic chords of “Forgiven,” or a jingle-bell rock record called Let It Snow Baby . . . Let It Reindeer.