It's been an interesting road for the band called Number One Gun. After two albums, the group fell apart, leaving lead singer Jeff Schneeweis alone to release two additional albums under the name Number One Gun. After the release of To The Secrets and Knowledge in 2010, Schneeweis joined the band The Make with unremarkable results. In 2012, Schneeweis launched a kickstarter campaign to bring back the original lineup for another Number One Gun album. The result is This Is All We Know.

Although To The Secrets and Knowledge was a more experimental project for Number One Gun, This Is All We Know is a decidedly emo flavored pop rock effort. With the frontman duties, Schneeweis delivers a strong performance on nearly every track and, as a result, the album has a lot of energy. The first song, "Get A Little Weird," offers a satisfying and catchy chorus that remains one of the best on the album. However, only a handful of songs after the opener distinguish themselves. Only "Disappear" and "For You" stand out as pop rock highlights, and it's mostly because of the guest vocals (From Anberlin's Stephan Christian and Sarah Ann, respectively). "Dark" is distinctive because the same guitar work is repeated for three minutes straight to a detrimental effect. The finale, "I'm On Fire," steals some of the experimental energy from To The Secrets And Knowledge, but it feels out of place here. Another problem comes in the form of rocky transitions between the verses and the refrains. Lyrically, the album is more accessible than previous Number One Gun efforts and the result yields obvious positivity. "Make This Last Forever" and "It" rely on pronouns making it difficult to tell if there is anything inherently spiritual about them.

I was split on To The Secrets And Knowledge. On one hand, I enjoyed the seasoned indie feel early on in the album, but I disliked the way the project faded into obscurity with its later tracks. There's no doubt This Is All We Know is a far more accessible album than its predecessor, but it still retains enough of its indie rock flair to steer clear of radio clichés. However, the album fails to distinguish itself, as too many tracks sound like the one before it. Although It's good to hear Number One Gun again, it's unlikely this album will have staying power throughout the year ahead.

- Review date: 1/15/13, written by Nathaniel Schexnayder of Jesusfreakhideout.com