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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Relient K's fifth CD is a diverse modern rock album that's so varied at times it sounds like a mix tape. "Take the Fifth" pulses with lush, Beach Boys-y harmonies, "Forgiven" is a piano-driven tune that sounds like early U2, and the dueling guitar feedback that opens "I Need You" displays deeper punk rock heaviosity. "Faking My Own Suicide"--a great tune powered by Death Cabby vocals, ironic yet playful lyrics, and a killer classic rock organ--seems destined for a movie soundtrack. The true standout is of course "Deathbed," an intense eleven minute ode to regret co-starring Jon Foreman of Switchfoot. Relient K have not only weathered lineup changes (the bassist and guitarist are new here) and mainstream success without "selling out" and foregoing their introspective messages of faith and hope. But they've made the best album in their career in the process. --Mike McGonigal

Album Description
Relient K's fifth album in seven years and the follow-up to 2004's mmhmm. Special Deluxe Package w/bonus DVD of Five Score and Seven Years Ago also available.

Customer Reviews: Read 64 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

One Step Forward, One Step Back November 20, 2008
We all know that nothing can ever match up to the mesmerizing feel of the 'Mmhmm' album, and we will never regain the original Relient K sound. And yet, 'Five Score and Seven Years Ago' is--against my better judgement--still pretty awesome. The album's opening song 'Plead the Fifth' gets you right from the start, with such a drawn out intro that it would be silly to resist. Then we rush right into 'Come Right Out and Say It', which sounds kind of irritated and fed up. After that is 'I Need You', which unfortunately came out at the same time that several other Christian artists had released songs with the same title. It was hard to get into the song; I was so tired of hearing the same thing. The next four songs (The Best Thing, Forgiven, Must Have Done Something Right, Give Until There's Nothing Left.) are wonderful. They have a nice balance of "rock out" and "reflection" music. But then we switch over to 'Devastation and Reform' which, in my opinion, was a failure. It didn't have a unique taste, and I got bored with it. The rest of the album is, sadly, the same way. 'I'm Taking You With Me' was really catchy, but then 'Faking My Own Suicide' was so awful I wanted to throw the album out completely. And the last few songs (Crayons Can Melt On Us For Al I Care, Bite My Tongue, Up and Up) leading to the finale have the same combination of amazing and crap. However, all of it is redeemed by 'Deathbed'. The song begins so slowly, you think you're headed into a ballad of some sort, but by the first verse (one minute and twenty seconds into the track) we've suddenly got a steady beat, and we're wrapped into a heartbreaking story. Throughout the song they switch from ballad to rock, with glorious piano and occasionally some random jingle bells. 'Deathbed' makes the album, no doubt about it. Even if you don't like Relient K, or if you don't like Contemporary Christian music, 'Deathbed' will change your mind about that for exactly 11 minutes and 5 seconds. The story of redemption in it completely redeems the album. I love it!

5 out of 5 stars

I'll come right out and say it: AWESOME ALBUM October 17, 2008
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.

5 out of 5 stars

One of the Best of 2007 Period. August 24, 2008
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

5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece July 25, 2008
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

2 out of 5 stars

Where'd my favorite band go? July 19, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

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.

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