Overall Grade:  3.54 (out of 5.0)

After the band's last album Mmhmm, I really didn't know where Relient K would go next. Would they stay poppy, or try to get a bit more serious?  The answer to that question is both:   you can hear Relient K mature but still have some playful melodies on the band's fifth studio release Five Score and Seven Years Ago.

What sets this album apart from the other Relient K albums? I believe it is the best grouping of songs the band has put onto an album to date. There are a couple love songs on the album – but unlike the past, these songs are actually happy. Lead vocalist Matt Thiessen showcases his mouth – literally – as he uses it to simulate each part of a drum kit on the opening track "Plead the Fifth". This is also the first full length album for a couple members in the band, so you really hear a more developed sound musically on every track. What is also different for Five Score And Seven Years Ago that Relient K had not done in the past is that each member contributes on vocals.

Serious, melodic, but don't forget dark when you are talking about the lyrics on the new album. Take the track "Faking My Own Suicide" for example. "I'm faking my own suicide…cause I know you love me, you just haven't realized." And if dark lyrics aren't enough to hook you in with everything else this album offers, then the final track might. "Deathbed" is over 11 minutes long and features Switchfoot's Jon Foreman on guest vocals.

My favorite songs on the album are "Come Right Out And Say It", "I Need You", "Bite My Tongue", and "Up And Up". If you are looking for a rock album that can cover a spectrum of emotions lyrically, I would recommend checking out the new Relient K album Five Score And Seven Years Ago.