Christian rock band Relient K is midway through its 25-date “Uncle Fest Tour,” which concludes Nov. 2, and has along the way released three new tracks for the reissue of their 2007 Christmas collection.

"We took a quick breather after Warped Tour, and … headed back to Nashville to track a couple of Christmas songs and rehearse for the upcoming Uncle Fest Tour," reported Matt Thiessen, Relient K's lead singer, guitarist, and pianist.

The new tracks – "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Silver Bells" and "Oh Holy Night" – can be downloaded by fans who purchase the Oct. 7 reissue of Let It Snow Baby...Let It Reindeer, the band’s second Christmas album, which is a beefed up version of the band’s first Christmas album, Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand.

Thiessen says Relient K will probably continue adding to its Christmas album each year, setting up an annual tradition for the five-member group.

"Christmas comes around every year, so you might as well put the record out every year," Thiessen said with a laugh during a recent phone interview with Michigan Live.

"Because I'm not into putting out the same record every year, we're going to tack a couple more songs onto it this year,” he added. “We'll probably tack more songs onto it next year. It's just this whole idea that we had for our Christmas catalog, pun intended: Let it snowball every year and add to it."

Relient K’s second Christmas album had been touted by critics for its diversity and fun factor, capturing the spirit of Christmas with classics such as “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Silent Night.” Also included in their Christmas album is a bratty punk rock take on “I’m getting Nuttin’ for Christmas” and a jazzy-punk arrangement of “Sleigh Ride.”

The original album peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard 200 list in its fourth week and at No. 15 on iTunes.


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