“Part of It” and "(Outro)*" by Relient K, Sunday, July 18, 2021

Forget and Not Slow Down is Relient K's sixth album. The band had shifted away from "tongue-in-cheek" lyrics in previous albums and had enjoyed mainstream pop radio success as well as topping the Christian charts. Forget and Not Slow Down, however, starts to see a shift away from the safety of the youth group, as vocalist and songwriter Matt Thiessen's writes about the dissolving of his relationship with radio DJ Shannon Murphy, the details of which were mostly covered up by the purity culture police, but are shocking nonetheless. Forget and Not Slow Down is a breakup masterpiece, and one of the most cohesive and listenable Relient K records, particularly if you don't like Relient K. Lyrically, Thiessen is often in denial about his infidelity, yet comes close to admitting it several times throughout the tracks. He moves from being repentant to accusatory, from self-righteous to self-deprecating. Musically, the band is joined by O.C. Supertones and Project 86 guitarist Ethan Luck, playing on the drums for this record. The band is also joined by their friends Tim Skipper (House of Heroes), Matt MacDonald (The Classic Crime), Adam Young (Owl City), Aaron Gillespie (The Almost, Underoath), and Brian McSweeney (Seven Days Jesus).

IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, JUST YOU AND ME. Forget and Not Slow Down has a very Tennessee feel to it--not twangy country music, but the album artwork describes it all. Painted by Thiessen's uncle Linden Frederick, the cover tells a story about the album. The flat fields of Southern Tennessee in Franklin County where Thiessen hid away, writing, processing his break up. The East Nashville production, the American rock 'n' roll before it gets processed into country music make the album more Springsteen and less Blink-182. "Part of It" is the fifth track and the fourth full-length song on the record. The first song sets a tone about moving on from mistakes. The second, the break up hits Thiessen, but he feels slightly numb realizing that he doesn't need someone else to define him. By the third track, "Candlelight," Thiessen is only remembering the good parts of the relationship. By "Part of It," Thiessen has released that all the "adhesives" in the world couldn't repair their relationship. However, the outro to this song, which should be listened right after "Part of It," Thiessen is begging his ex not to believe the rumors. Following the outro, Thiessen has a chance to process his breakup in the songs "Therapy" and "Over It," the former which sees him "driving in the country just to drive." I imagine a man who hasn't slept much for awhile, un-showered and greasy-haired, in his sweatpants, driving through the backwoods of Tennessee. The album mostly plays on similar themes until the closers "This is the End" and "(If You Want It)," which use the same melody, making the latter just a continuation of the same song.

IF A NIGHTMARE EVER DOES UNFOLD, PERSPECTIVE IS A LOVELY HAND TO HOLD. Allan knew he should go to church. He certainly wasn't going to get any work done. Nothing was forcing him to go to church, but Sabbath was still a day that he could forget about the mess his life had become. Living off campus, he didn't run into classmates. The weeks were exhausting. He had risen to every challenge so far in his pretty sheltered life. Why was student teaching becoming such a disaster? Why did Ms. Murphey not give him feedback until the last minute? Why was it so hard to talk with anyone in the education department at school? Why couldn't he come home and do the work after work. Lesson plans and course work. Course work and lesson plans. At the end of the day, he was exhausted. Now at Mission Academy, he had given up. "What was that? You clearly didn't prepare," Mr. Barnes told him over and over again. The weekends were a blessing because he didn't have to see anyone. Church was too artificial. He had to present his best self. No matter where he went, there would be someone who knew who he was or could ask around about him. "Did you have a bad experience at your last school," one student asked. "It wasn't the best experience, but I'm learning. Why do you ask?" "My sister was in your class. She said you were always so nervous, shaking. Kind of like you do here." Instead of lying around all day looking at porn like many Saturdays had turned into, Allan went to his car without taking a shower. Popping in Forget and Not Slow Down like he did many mornings as an inspirational album to make the day less hellish, Allan just decided just to drive around Collegetown and surrounding areas outside of Chattanooga. It was a beautiful October day and the leaves were starting to change. The landscape would soon look a little less patchy when the leaves fell. The paths left by the tornado last spring would soon be less obvious. Taking a left on State Route 7, he headed toward Georgia, where the worst of the devastation had happened that fateful April night. The eeriest thing was when the forest disappeared. Every time he drove this way, the clean was more complete. But the sight of hundreds of tree trunks snapped and then peeled away, the sight of houseless foundations reminded Allan that people had died that night. Storms come and take away homes and dreams. He may never be a teacher at Mission Academy, the arsenal of the best teachers who graduated from Mission College. He may not have that two story house with a beautiful blond haired wife and the 2.5 kids he saw whenever he closed his eyes. But God had a plan for all of this, Allan was convinced. He's clearly humbling me for something great, even if it is dying in the Middle East.

Read the lyrics on Genius.

Here are the tracks unseparated for your listening pleasure:

*Unfortunately, Forget and Not Slow Down is not available on AppleMusic, so I am substituting their live version of "Forget and Not Slow Down" as it "I Don't Need a Soul," and "Sahara" are the only tracks available from the album.