Canton’s Relient K looks at love, loss on latest CD

By MARIAN LIU

For more than a decade, Relient K has rocked both sides of the spectrum — secular and Christian — while staying true to themselves.

“Forget and Not Slow Down” is the latest album from the group, which formed in Canton in the late ’90s. “Forget” is a raw examination of lead singer Matt Thiessen’s personal life. It’s a happy-go-lucky breakup album inspired by the demise of Thiessen’s four-year relationship with his former fianc e. Thiessen spoke on the phone from Tennessee.

Q. Unlike other breakup albums, yours seems quite happy.

A. After being depressed, you come to the fact, that yeah, it’s all right; I’m going to get over it, and everything is going to be fine. I started to arrive at that conclusion as quickly as possible, and writing these songs really helped me do that.

Q. Tell me about this line — “Without you I’m still whole/You and life remain beautiful” from your song “I Don’t Need A Soul”?

A. A lot of times in relationships, we start to think we can’t be complete without somebody in our lives. We start to rely on that other person as a part of our identity. When you separate the two, are you still complete? Yeah, your life isn’t contingent on somebody else’s.

Q. How do you keep relating to kids these days when you turn 30 next year?

A. The things we say and talk about in our songs are usually relatable. ... I remember when I was that age, if I broke up with a girl, it was the end of the world. We definitely took a big-brother approach sometimes with our lyrics and how it relates with kids: “Hey, we’ve been there, we’ve done that and this is how we dealt with it.”

Q. Is balancing both sides — Christian and mainstream — a conscious decision?

A. The way my faith comes out and the way it does with our music, it’s not something I shy away from, but it’s not something I’m like in-your-face or down-your-throat about either.