Christian pop-punk band Relient K released their fifth full length album on March 6, 2007 and it debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200. Five Score and Seven Years Ago, is a major accomplishment in the growth of this still rather under the radar band. Unlike many bands in the pop punk genre, Relient K’s songs are mostly pretty up-beat and positive, which is more than you can say about some of the more angst-filled music on MTV these days.

Their last 3 albums have achieved Gold status, and singles such as “Who I am Hates Who I’ve Been” off of their last album, mmhmm received a lot of air time on TV. Relient K, which is named after guitarist Matt Hoopes’ Plymouth Reliant car, began their career with very catchy songs, full of puns, which rarely became very serious. However, they’ve been adding more serious aspects to their songs on their most recent albums. Many tracks off of mmhmm demonstrate a maturity in both music and lyrics, however Relient K still holds on to a lot of the fun attitude they started with.

The band is made up of Matt Thiessen, bassist John Warne, guitarist Matt Hoopes, guitarist Jon Schneck, and drummer Dave Douglas. The line up has changed some over the years and Thiessen and Hoopes are the only two remaining members. On top of the standard instruments, Relient K features banjo, piano, and others on several of their songs.

Five Score and Seven Years Ago has shown continued growth for the promising band from Ohio. The first track, “Plead the Fifth”, is an a cappella song that sums up well the vocal styling of singer/guitarist/pianist Matt Thiessen. The first single off the album, “Must Have Done Something Right,” is an upbeat song about a relationship. However, unlike the more “emo” bands, the song is happy and remains optimistic.

On their website, Thiessen talks about this more unique side: “I always write about what I’m going through and I just can’t avoid the fact that I’m really happy and there are some good things going on.”

The 14 tracks on Five Score and Seven Years Ago range from the opening a cappella song, through several pop-punk songs of different speeds, and end with an epic 11-minute story-song about a man on his deathbed, the appropriately titled “Deathbed.” While their religious roots shine in many of their songs, it is not always so obvious, but some tracks are much more blatant about their Christian faith. “Deathbed” is about a man at the end of his days, and after a not so glamorous life, is calling to Jesus for salvation.

Perhaps it is their Christian side which makes the band more about redemption than destruction. "We're all doomed to make mistakes and to try to recover," says Thiessen. "But I prefer to look at it from the positive, and refer to it as a grace kind of thing." And the end result is something great.

If you’re a Relient K fan, you won’t be disappointed with Five Score and Seven Years Ago, and if you haven’t listened to them before, they are definitely worth checking out if you are into bands like Emery or the Starting Line. Plus if they ever get huge in the future, you can tell everyone you knew about them before, like you did with Fall Out Boy.