Keep Warm recruits Matthew Thiessen and Relient K for the nostalgic new single “Like You,” arriving October 23. And yes, hearing that voice again feels really, really good.
There are certain voices that can instantly transport you to a different time in your life.
For an entire generation of Christian music fans, Matthew Thiessen of Relient K has one of those voices.
One second you’re going about your day, and the next you’re mentally digging through your CD collection, updating your MySpace Top 8, and trying to remember exactly where you were when you first heard the subtly of
“Jesus loved the outcasts
He loves the ones the world just loves to hate
And as long as there’s a heaven
There’ll be a failure to excommunicate”
That’s exactly the feeling I had listening to “Like You,” the new collaboration between Nashville pop-punk band Keep Warm and Relient K, arriving Friday, October 23.
And I have to admit something.
I genuinely sighed when Thiessen’s verse began.
Not out of disappointment. Quite the opposite.
It was that involuntary, nostalgic exhale that comes when something familiar catches you completely off guard. Like hearing from an old friend you haven’t spoken to in years, only to discover their voice sounds exactly the way you remember.
For millennial Christian music kids, Matthew Thiessen’s vocals are basically a warm hug.
And sometimes that’s all you need.
It’s worth remembering that Relient K hasn’t released a full-length studio album since 2016’s Air for Free. That’s an entire decade. Sure, there have been reunions, anniversary releases, live performances, and occasional collaborations along the way. But new recordings featuring that unmistakable Relient K sound are increasingly rare. So when Keep Warm announced “Like You,” featuring Relient K, it immediately caught my attention.
And while this isn’t technically a brand-new Relient K single, it’s about as close to that feeling as we’ve gotten in a while. Keep Warm understands the assignment. The Nashville band, led by vocalist Kevin Campbell, draws heavily from the melodic pop-punk sound that helped define the early 2000s.
”Like You” embraces that musical heritage without trying to reinvent it.
And that’s part of the appeal. Not every song needs to rewrite the rules of popular music. Sometimes it’s enough to remind you why you fell in love with a particular sound in the first place. A little older. A little wiser. Still pop-punk. It may be a little shinier and cleaned up than it would’ve been in the early aughts, but I’ll let that slide.
Beyond the nostalgia, “Like You” has a genuinely sweet origin story.
The song was written by Campbell alongside Sam Barnhart, a founding member of the beloved ’90s Christian rock band Bleach, and songwriter Warren David.
The inspiration came from two major life milestones happening at the same time.
Campbell had just gotten married, while Barnhart was preparing to become a grandfather, with his son expecting a baby boy.
Two very different moments in life, connected by the idea of love, family, and the people who shape who we become.
It’s a fitting backdrop for a collaboration that bridges generations of Christian alternative music.
So hearing Thiessen pop up in 2026, sounding so wonderfully familiar, is a small but welcome reminder of those years. Is “Like You” going to change the course of modern rock music?
Probably not. Does it need to? Absolutely not.
There’s something wonderful about a song that exists simply to make you smile, revisit a few memories, and maybe go down a Relient K rabbit hole for the rest of the afternoon.
And for Keep Warm… that is precisely what they’re offering us. A blanket.
“Like You (feat. Relient K)” by Keep Warm is available now. The single follows the band’s 2024 debut “Power Wagon” and its 2025 EP, Terminals.