Review of Relient K- Forget and Not Slow Down

Forget and Not Slow Down follows on the five album progression of the band Relient K. You would be forgiven for thinking that we have only just had an album from the band in the form of The Birds and the Beesides & The Nashville Tennis EP, however that was possibly one of the biggest EPs produced by any band ever! Their previous album, released two years ago, Five Score and Seven Years Ago received fantastic reviews across the board and sold 64,000 copies in it’s first week!

This new album, released on the 6th October '09, has been in the works since the beginning of the year, written primarily by front man Matt Thiessen, the album weighs in at 15 tracks and comes to a total length of 43 minutes.

The title track is the opener for the album which delivers a sound that can only be described as Relient K! It is upbeat, fast with a very typical mix of instruments. However also within it is a sound that we were treated to within The Nashville Tennis EP, it really shows progression from the band, while still keeping in touch with their punk pop roots.

The next two tracks, I Don’t Need A Soul and Candlelight, really do keep this happy, vibrant, sound going. One of the things really to mention here is the time and thought that has obviously gone into the track order, the cutting between Candlelight and Flare (tracks 3 & 4) as well as the progression between Therapy and Over It (tracks 7 & 8) just work so well together.

Savannah (track 11) moves into an almost indie-pop sound really do show that Relient K haven’t lost any of their catchy sound, while showing real development in their musical style. The final two tracks, which in practice is one track, This is the End and (If You Want It), perfectly round up the album, with a style like ‘Where Do I Go From Here’, from the previous EP, with a soft piano opening which opens up into a loud and lively track, only to return to a perfect close to the album.

This album doesn’t just contain really good music though, the track Therapy is an example of this, it isn’t just a good tune but also contains really meaningful lyrics, showing how it often only when people are feeling most alone they turn to God. The whole album lyrically really looks at the relationships, Thiessen said himself that this album was written in response to the break down of his engagement. The title track, Forget and Not Slow Down’s opening lyrics; “How many times can I push it aside? Is it time I befriended all the ghosts of all the things that haunt me most?” really does start as it means to go on, and the album’s lyrics reflect deep and personal emotion.

Even though the album delivers strong moving content, Relient K have not made any compromises to the high quality that fans have learnt to expect from the band. Relient K have really diversified into other styles of music keeping elements of their origins. It isn’t a perfect album, it could do without some of the filler tracks that last barely a minute, however these are a small price to pay for the maturing sound of the band in this album. It still holds onto the catchy, youthful sound while being a strong progression into a new direction. It is a testament that bands can still put out a strong disc even after 10 years playing together!

Want to preview the album? Have a listen on Spotify or through Amazon

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Standout Tracks:

• Forget and Not Slow Down
• Therapy
• Sahara
• Savannah