antiMusic.com: Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago Review

Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago Review
by Matthew Hastie

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Let me just say right off, I've never liked Relient K because I found them a bit too annoying and pop punk. I was assigned their latest album, "Five Score and Seven Years Ago", and it sat at the bottom of my stack because I really didn't want to listen to it. But once I did I was thoroughly surprised at what came out of my speakers. The album, while still a little lacking, could possibly be the pinnacle in Relient K's career. By genre jumping and trying out a few new things, Relient K create a record and is cohesive, and even has a few rocking songs.

The album opens with "Pleading the Fifth" which is chock full of Beach Boys style melodies and then heads into "Come Right Out and Say It" which is what I would describe as a little bit of a filler song. It's not bad, but it's just there to pass the time until a better song comes on. This fortunately is the next track "I Need You", which features chaotic guitars and a great chorus to sing along with. However a good portion of the tracks are quite poppy or somber and at times you feel waiting for a more up-tempo song to come on. I really feel the album doesn't pick up until "Devastation and Reform", but fortunately the quality continues to the end of the album.

"Faking My Own Suicide" shows the band branching off into a country sound, and they do surprisingly well. "Bite My Tongue" while not entirely original (it seeps with Jimmy Eat World and Finch) is definitely one of the stand out songs of the album. Everything literally comes to an end with album closer "Deathbed" which clocks in at 11:05. The song tells of a man on his deathbed looking back on his life and the choices he's made. While the song starts out slow, it often picks right back up to sound a little like the Beatles and then comes crashing right back into the remorseful chorus. "Five Score and Seven Years Ago" is a great album, and it might very well be the best Relient K can do. Fan or not check it out, it's a solid record with a decent batch of songs.

CD Info and Links

Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago
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