In the platinum-chasing world of pop punk, it’s a move as inevitable as ironic remakes of ’80s songs and firing the original bassist: the “creative-leap forward” album (a.k.a.: Take Us Seriously! or Some of the Songs Are Slower Now). Thankfully, clean-cut Relient K frontman Matthew Thiessen drapes his ambition in Beach Boys–style harmonies, adding weight without weighing things down. There’s an occasional fumble — some self-important rockers (“I Need You”), some juvenile wordplay (“We should get jerseys because we make a good team”). But when Thiessen really reaches — as on “Deathbed,” an 11-minute, genre-jumping song-suite about bowling, World War II and Jesus — he seems as surprised as anyone by the results. Now, to get to work on that Kajagoogoo cover …

Download: “Come Right Out and Say It,” “Bite My Tongue,” “Up and Up”