Solitude is the inspiration for the new album by Relient K, Forget and Not Slow Down. Singer Matt Thiessen retreated to a remote house in Tennessee for several months to write the material. All the while he stayed in touch with the band—guitarists Matt Hoopes and Jon Schneck, drummer Ethan Luck and bassist John Warne—sharing song ideas and discussing the direction for the album.

Thiessen says the experience was a lot like prayer. "Songwriting and praying are kind of synonymous for me," he says. "You're using your heart, you're using your brain, you're collecting your thoughts—inner emotions—and putting them all together; and you're saying, ‘Where does this all fit into my life?'"

Hoopes says the favorite songs among their fans are those that address "making mistakes but ultimately moving past them." He says Forget and Not Slow Down "has a lot of that feeling."

"No matter what trials and tribulations you encounter in your life, it doesn't have to be the end of your story," he says. "You can move on and be happy and experience joy."