Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago

I'll come right out and say it: AWESOME ALBUM

Historically, I'm a fan of bands like Third Day, Jars of Clay, and the Newsboys. Switchfoot was kind of my "transitional" band to the punk scene. After their "A Beautiful Letdown", I decided to take the leap and go for a full-out punk band, so I bought Relient K's "MmmHmm". Only then did I learn that this album has been hailed as Relient K's move from flippant teen punk to a slightly more mature, serious overall tone. Oh, well; my favorite prior work from RK was "Getting Into You", anyway, so that's right up my alley.

I've only been with Relient K as a fan for the last two albums ("MmmHmm" and "Five Score"), but I have to say that I've locked on to Matt Thiessen's style of songwriting and Relient K's overall delivery. It's energizing and youthful while still pulling off some deeply reflective themes. As I've said in prior reviews, my favorite songs have a strong lyrical message to be found beneath a good sound. All that being said, let's dig into a song-by-song review.

"Plead the Fifth", a brief a capella bit reminiscent of the Beach Boys, was a fun way to open up the album. This song ties in with the album title by alluding to Lincoln's assassination (did I just say "fun" and "assassination" in the same line?).

"Come Right Out and Say It" jumps into the punk/rock sound Relient K is known for. On this track, Thiessen begs a friend to just say what's on his mind, rather than beat around the bush and leave things unsaid; honesty is the best policy, even if stings at first.

"I Need You" is both a heartfelt cry for God's rescue from the messes we get ourselves in and a reassuring promise that God will never abandon us. ("I have not been abandoned, no I have not been deserted and I have not been forgotten")

"The Best Thing" is the first of four "lovey-dovey" songs that Matt stuck on the album. I say, bring 'em on. As a twenty-something Christian guy myself, it's nice to hear a guy talk about the woman in his life as a gift to be treasured, rather than a piece of property to be used. ("When I looked into your eyes, and you dared to stare right back, you should've said 'Nice to meet you, I'm your other half'")

"Forgiven" puts into words something that I've struggled with in my own life. The message I pulled out of this is that none of us is more righteous than any other; while some may perform sinful actions and bring the judgment of their fellow men upon them, we ALL (at least occasionally) wrestle with sinful desires, which Jesus called as sinful as actually peforming the action. The chorus says it all: "We're all guilty of the same things; We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through; And I know that I have been forgiven; And I just hope you can forgive me too."

"Must Have Done Something Right" is the second love song on the album. While the song itself is fun enough, I especially liked the video that goes along with it, which features Matt "fetching" a runaway soccer ball for his girl; each time he almost has it, a casual bystander exhibits professional soccer moves by stealing the ball and passing it to someone else in a hilarious game of keepaway. My wife (an avid soccer fan) loved it.

"Give" is a love song to God; it finds Matt promising to give God everything he has in exchange for everything God has to offer us. It's a very simple song with a profoundly simple message: all we are is the least we can offer to God.

I had a hard time pulling a distinct message out of "Devastation and Reform"; if nothing else, it's a powerful expression of the mixture of angst we feel over our constant failures as conflict-seeking human beings, and the comfort we feel knowing that God patiently forgives our missteps.

"I'm Taking You With Me" is number three on the Love-Song-o-Meter, with Matt telling his girl that he can't bear to be apart from her, so he's taking her with him wherever he goes. Lighthearted and fun. ("Every second that goes by is one more second off my life, and it couldn't be more clear: I'm literally dying without you here.")

"Faking My Own Suicide" is the final entry in the love song collection, and I always find it to be a good listen. It's a slightly mellower tune written from the perspective of a delusional guy with a crush on a girl who may or may not know he exists; however, he's convinced that, were he to commit suicide, the girl would realize how much she had always wanted to be his one-and-only. Logically, then, his plan is to FAKE his suicide, then reveal himself to her when she came to that realization. Yeah. Let me know how THAT goes...

"Crayons Can Melt On Us For All I Care" is the obligatory Relient K goof-off track; it's roughly 10 seconds that you'll never get back (and I sing along every time!).

"Bite My Tongue" is another track that I related to very closely. Putting into action the words of James 3:1-12, Matt speaks of the awesome power of the tongue, how speaking without thinking can devastate a situation. Equipped with a sharp, sarcastic wit myself, I've hurt those I love on many occasions by lashing out without considering my words. I'd like to quote the whole song, but here's a snippet: "I've never broken bones with a stone or a stick, but I'll conjure up a phrase that can cut to the quick. Sometimes I say things that I wish that I could take back; then the smartest thing to say is to tell myself to keep quiet."

"Up and Up" is an upbeat reminder that the past is gone, and with God, the future looks bright. With a content heart and faith in God's providence, your life will be "on the up and up". ("It seems I get so hung up on the history of what's gone wrong that the hope of a new day is sometimes hard to see. But I'm finally catching on to it; yeah, the past is just a conduit, and the light there at the end is where I'll be.")

"Deathbed" is a long, sad, beautiful ballad of loss and redemption. It tells the story of a man lying alone on his deathbed and looking back over the failures in his life, of which there are many (smoking, alcoholism, premarital pregnancy, divorce, etc). However, the last verse finds the man coming to grips with his guilt and asking Jesus for his forgiveness and his companionship. Every time I hear this song, I get choked up by the imagery of the man as a wolf with the Lamb's blood still on his fangs, crushed by the realization that he killed the Lamb that he loved so much. Perhaps because it strikes a chord in my own heart. The song ends with Jesus taking the man home, where he will never be alone again. October 17, 2008

One of the Best of 2007 Period.

There were a lot of records released in 2007 and a few awesome albums, like the Knife's "Silent Shout" and James Morrison's "Undiscovered" while 2007 also saw successful commercial releases like Rhianna's record "Good Girl Gone Bad" and Alicia Key's comeback record. For the most part, Relient K's "Five Scores and Seven Years ago" went past most people's radars and was largely misunderstood by such publications as "Rollingstone" calling them "Insipid" and "Bland". I took that criticism in when I listened to "Five Scores" and decided to give a fair trial.

On first listen to "Five Scores" it was hard to really get into it. "Plead the Fifth" seemed like a pointless track that made little sense and the only tracks I found listenable at first were "The Best Thing" and "I Must've Done Something Right". However, on repeated listenings for almost a year, it became appearant that those are possibly the worst tracks on the album. "Plead the Fifth" became clever since the title of the album is a play on "Four Scores and Seven Years ago" it steals from the Abraham Lincoln theme and creates a track about the man who saw Boothe shoot Lincoln, accapella no less.

Probably the best tracks on repeated listenings became "Come Right Out and Say It" and "Bite My Tongue", those tracks belong together because it is impossible to separate saying what you need to say without watching what you say, it is a delicate balance which Thiessen is aware of. The songs vary from bright and poppy "Must've Done Something Right" to relentlessy Pounding "I Need You" and "Devastation and Reform". In response to Rolling Stone' remark that "Give Until Their's Nothing Left" being insipid, it is only to a person who gets paid to be a cynic. It is probably the most sacharine sounding track album, but it packs a punch when you really listen to the lyrics.

For classic Relint K humor, look no further than "Crayons Can Melt on Us for All I Care" and "Faking My Own Suicide", a song that took time to grow on me, but once it did, it became a favorite of mine. To see the immense growth between "Mhmmm" and this album see "Deathbed", this song is an instant classic. An 11 minute epic about a man who is on his deathbed looking back at his life and how his life was a complete mess, and the hope that he has in Jesus upon death. The song took time to grow on me, but once it did, it became from the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs that I have ever heard. If Thiessen keeps growing lyrically and nobody will be able to stop this band from being one of the biggest Christian themed bands in the world, and also universally respected among the secular crowd as well.

As long as Relient K keep their trademark humor in place, and continue to grow lyrically, there is nowhere they can go but up. It is my hope that they do not get spirited away in the midst of success and that they continue to put Jesus first, especially in their lyrics. "Deathbed" is a testimony to the fact that Christian music can be intelligent and original and just as, if not more, innovative than most secular counterparts.

God Bless ~Amy
August 24, 2008

Masterpiece

Musically, this is Relient K's most impressive CD so far. They show a lot of talent in including the all acapella "Plead the Fifth" and the 11 minute epic "Deathbed" is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although the rest of the songs did not produce a mainstream radio-hit like "Be My Escape" provided from Mmhmm, the songs are absolutely better than any of the junk you will find listening to on the radio. The lryics are catchy and positive, and the new more piano-driven songs sound great. I know some tweens are dissapointed that the cd doesnt have any more silly songs that are all over their earlier CDs, and although their earlier cd's were amazing as well, this CD provides way more musical maturity and complexity.
A must buy for any fan of the band or alternative/pop rock music.

Sounds like: Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate July 25, 2008

Where'd my favorite band go?

I used to feel like Relient K and I were growing up together. The choppy punk sound and wry lyrics, from the goofy "Hello McFly" of their first release, to the genuinely theological "I Am Understood?" of "Two Lefts Don't Make a Right. . . But Three Do," was music I related to.

But then their music veered sharply into the current fad of whining, melodramatic teen rock. It seems as though, lyrically, Relient K has not just stagnated, but reversed course and become less mature than their earliest work. The witty lyrics are gone, the silly-just-to-be-silly tracks are absent, and the earnest, eager love for life that was apparent in their earlier songs has been replaced by ill-placed-angst. For somebody who loved what they used to be, this album is a crushing disappointment.

I still listen to a couple of the tracks on "MMHMM" ("When I go Down" and "Life After Death and Taxes"), but there's nothing on this album for a fan of the old Relient K. As far as I'm concerned, though, the band I liked quit making music years ago. July 19, 2008

The Best Thing Yet From Relient K

Alright, so, before I begin, I'll just let you know that I am slightly obsessed with Relient K, but I started listening with FiveScore and Seven Years Ago and went backwards through their CDs, so, I do happen to favor this CD a bit...

Plead The Fifth - 8/10
This song both has great vocal harmony and also quite humorous lyrics about the death of Abraham Lincoln being a conspiracy.
"That night at the theater an impersonator died, Mr. Booth was tried, I just kept the truth inside..."

Come Right Out And Say It - 8/10
This song has a bit of that "classic Relient K" sound to it and tells about just bringing things into the open instead of keeping them to ourselves.
"Why don't you come right out and say, come right out and say what I know you're thinking anyway..."

I Need You - 7/10
This song begins with a fast beat and a catchy tune that will be stuck in your head for quite some time. It's about how lost we are without God and how much we need Him.
"I have not been abandoned, no I have not been deserted and I have not been forgotten..."

The Best Thing - 6/10
This song begins with an upbeat piano intro and continues it throughout the rest of the song. It's hard to tell if he's singing it to a girl, or to God. Either way, it's a good song to hear once or twice, but on repeat it can get quite monotonous, quite fast.
"When I looked into your eyes and you dared to stare right back, you should have said 'Nice to meet you, I'm your other half'..."

Forgiven - 9/10
Definitely one of the best songs on the album, Forgiven is about the mistakes we make and asking for forgiveness for them. Some people may cringe at the use of the word "damned" in the song, but it is used in it's truest form.
"We're all guilty of the same things, we think the thoughts whether or not we see them through..."

Must've Done Something Right - 10/10
This song has a happy, upbeat sound to it that is conveyed even through the lyrics which are about a boy who's trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he ends up with a girl who changed his life.
"Came along one day and you re-arranged my life, all I gotta say is I must've done something right..."

Give Until There's Nothing Left - 9/10
This song is a bit slower, and in a quite different style than most other Relient K songs. The lyrics are about giving all we have to God and not asking Him for too much.
"I want all You have to offer, so I'll offer myself and I'll just give until there's nothing else"

Devastation and Reform - 8/10
This song starts off with a loud guitar intro that quiets a bit for the first verse before returning for the chorus. The song is about destroying everything in life before turning to God to help restore what was lost.
"I'll pull my heart out, reconstruct, but in the end it's nothing but a shell of what I had when I first started..."

I'm Taking You With Me - 7/10
This song begins with a set of "woahh"s that remind me a bit of their song "Lion Wilson". The lyrics are about a girl who the singer misses, so, in solution to the problem, he's going to take with him wherever he goes.
"If home is where the heart is then my home is where you are, but it's getting oh-so-hard to spend these days without my heart..."

Faking My Own Suicide - 5/10
This song has a more "country" sound to it, and the lyrics are a bit disturbing. It's a cute sentiment, but I'm not too fond of it. The song itself started as a part of Matt Thiessen's side project, and I think it fit better with those songs than on a Relient K album.
"I'll write you a letter that you'll keep, reminding you your love for me is more than six feet deep..."

Crayons Can Melt On Us For All I Care - 6/10
Quite a short song at only 12 seconds (ten of which are wasted, or so says Matt) it provides a small break from the louder, more serious songs on the CD.
"I just wasted ten seconds of your life."

Bite My Tongue - 10/10
This is definitely my favorite song on the album, both in sound and in meaning. It is about being careful what we say because our words can be destructive. I like Matt's creative use of the phrase 'too ticked to talk'
"Sometimes I say things that I wish that I could take back; the most crucial thing I lack is a think called tact..."

Up and Up - 9/10
Starting with a guitar intro and a vocal echo of the same tune, Up and Up is one of the happier songs on the CD about moving forward in life and not looking back to the mistakes in the past.
"I get so hung up on the history of what's gone wrong and the hope of a new day is sometimes hard to see..."

Deathbed - 10/10
Deathbed is the best way to pass 10 minutes, hands down. The song changes rhythms and sounds several times during the full 11:05, including a segment of different horns, whistles, bells, and even a mandolin all playing an echo of what sounds a bit like Plead the Fifth... The song is the story of a man's life told from his point of view as he lies dying of cancer. Deathbed features the lead singer from Switchfoot as the voice of Jesus at the end of the song.
"I can hear You whisper to me 'It's time to leave, you'll never be lonely again'..."

So, from Plead the Fifth to Deathbed, Five Score and Seven Years Ago is one of the best CD's I've ever heard, and I would recommend it to fans of the older Relient K as well as to new listeners. <3 July 17, 2008

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