Long before the band flew to Los Angeles to record, however, Matt Thiessen was writing songs at his home in Ohio and emailing demos to the others who, by then, lived all across the country. Stories abound of major labels destroying good bands by hen-pecking them over song selection in an effort to get as many sound-alike radio hits on the disc as possible. But for Relient K, the experience was totally smooth. "When it came time to start writing, I was just sitting at home in Ohio, and nobody really said anything, which I think is cool," Thiessen recalls. "It's our fifth record, so I feel like we've figured out what Relient K is and how to make it happen." As far as pressure to write certain kinds of songs, or to avoid certain subjects, Thiessen says it was never an issue at all. "When we were making our third record we had major label interest," he adds. "So if we were going to start writing differently for major labels, we would have started doing it back then, and it's never been a factor. We've never written for an audience. I don't know if this sounds selfish or stupid, but we've always written for ourselves; just writing songs that we're stoked on and that we can get behind. Obviously, you want it to appeal to people but, at the same time, you don't want to cater to people for the sake of catering to people."

Hoopes agrees. "I think overall it was a pretty good experience." And the transition from Gotee to Capitol? "It's really been smooth," says Thiessen. "And we do really like the fact that we get to work with Gotee still. They gave us our start. They're responsible for us having careers, and it has always been a very family-oriented situation." Gotee continues to distribute Relient K's music into the Christian market via EMI Christian Music Group.

Once the songs had been circulated and whittled down, the band joined up in Nashville for their first round of pre-production, recording slightly less rough demos than the ones Thiessen had made on his computer. "The songwriting process on this one was a little bit different for us," Thiessen explains, "because we have the new line-up." The band, living in various parts of Ohio, Tennessee and Colorado then went to Los Angeles to further tweak the songs and prepare to record them. Once underway, the entire L.A. session lasted only three and a half weeks.

The One You’re Waiting For

Production, technology and geography aside, the heart of any great record is the music itself—the songs. And some noticeable changes emerged in the writing and performing of this latest batch of tunes. While every bit as catchy, melodic and punchy as anything in their catalog, a new level of maturity and artistic sophistication is obvious throughout the disc. From the densely packed Beach Boys' style vocal harmonies, to a musical palette that is far more diverse than they have ever attempted, Five Score and Seven Years Ago marks major improvements in just about every way a band can improve. Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman, a mentor of sorts to Thiessen, sees the new collection as a great example of Thiessen’s deft touch as a writer. "I am always struck by how clever Matt is," Foreman tells CCM. "This record has hidden gems throughout."

The opening track, "Plead The Fifth," offers an odd conspiracy theory regarding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and a body double, set to a strange Lion King meets Barber Shop Quartet mini song before launching headfirst into the first "real" song. But it's the lead single, "Must Have Done Something Right," that is so upbeat, sunny and happy, that the band is a little nervous about it being the first thing people hear from the album. Tracks on the disc range from high-energy power-pop to textured alternative rock and even some convincing and thoughtful ballads. And as the stylistic boundaries broaden, the lyrical resonance plunges far deeper than anything Thiessen has penned in the past.

From CCM's March 2007 issue. Get the full magazine digitally for only $1.99. Follow This Link!

Then Jesus Showed Up