The Starting Line Band • Page 114

TSL is all hits. Not a bad apple in the bunch

 

I need BOATS and Direction so badly

 

Every record is great, but SILYMI will always be my favorite and hold a very special place in my heart

 

I am truly beside myself that no one responded to you that The Wonder Years are absolutely the band you are looking for. I would totally understand if anyone would hold one record up over another; I love all of their albums and would be really hard pressed to choose a single one to recommend specifically. The Upsides was really their breakout and they kept building on that sound up through The Greatest Generation, but Sister Cities and The Hum Goes on Forever are also incredible albums for the genre and IMO easily a step above all of their contemporaries.

 

When I think of TSL I think of BOATS

 

I think they are definitely a good example, some albums more than other, but they also have been around almost 20 years so I wouldn't really consider them a newer band anymore. But yes, they've definitely had a lot of moments of greatness, so it works

 

BOATS was a big hit with me and a couple of my friends that knew TSL back in the day. The change in sound was definitely a welcomed one, and that album was the height of my fandom.

Direction is the one that (anecdotally, at least) didn’t get enough praise, but that was mainly due to it getting overlooked entirely and not because people were put off by a stylistic change.

 

BOATS forever

 

I'd definitely put Origami Angel and Super American (RIP) there. I also think Anxious are doing some awesome things. They draw from melodic hardcore too, but much more of an emphasis on the melody than the hardcore. And even though they get compared to the the 10's bands like Title Fight, they're really drawing more from the 00's stuff, albeit more Jimmy Eat World and The Movielife than The Starting Line.

 

I did listen to the new Anxious and didn't quite... get the hype. It was nice, but it didn't really jump out as much as I hoped. I'll give it another spin, maybe it'll grow on me

 

The Sidekicks were another band that started as pop-punk and then greatly expanded on that sound.

 

You definitely should! It's one of my favorites of the year so far. And while Bambi is definitely a leap for them, that's not to slight Little Green House, which is also very good, and you should check that one out (again) too if you haven't (recently).

 

“Doing what BOATS” does is also relative. When I hear BOATS or Directions (or even Phantoms), I think about what became that “post pop punk” joke for a bit: Dangerous Summer, Valencia, HIPV etc. That was a bit of a smaller wave at the time, but those records are some of my personal favorites.

Plenty of great bands in this genre over the last 20 years, but only recently have I felt like there are new bands in the whole “clean production, more pop than punk, nostalgic but growing up” feel that BOATS/Directions really nailed. Arm’s Length is the first that comes to mind, maybe even The Maine (but not even).

Adam’s review is solid and kind of underscores the whole climate of the time where major labels had a lot of pop punk/emo bands from the peak era, but weren’t really interested in any of the “mature growing up” albums that inevitably came after the initial blow up. Might partially explain why the BOATS/Directions follow up era was a little constrained, especially as the new wave of pop punk came in through indie labels

 

I think TSL's discography is one of the most solid of any band in the genre. Each album was such a strong collection of songs and in each record they progressed their sound in a really nice way - never going too crazy in either direction. Just a solid band through and through. TSL is probably my favorite band of all time so I'm very much biased, but I also don't think I'm too far off with my thoughts.

 

I absolutely love TSL. Adore them. All three albums. But, I cannot wait to hear what's coming from them. They've been a nostalgia band living off their 3 releases and other EPs for too long now. We need new music! This year hopefully although I'd have thought we might have heard mumblings by now.

 

Boats would be much better without bedroom talk

 

Who among us hasn’t had our ass torn up like we just got married?

 

That's what I was just saying in the retrospective review thread.

 

I don't despise Bedroom Talk or The World, but man this album would've been even better if those were replaced with Classic Jazz and Lasting Impression

 

Full band version of lasting impression is so fucking good.

 

Stay Where I Can See You the best song on the album IMO

 

Does anyone have a HQ rip of Nights and Weekends?

 

nights and weekends shoulda been on the albummmm

 

Immensely so. There's an album they recorded as teenagers where they're trying to be Rancid or Pennywise and Soggy Dog was more of that, then they started listening to stuff like Band Of Horses and it opened up a whole new world for them. I loved their early stuff and was floored when Awkward Breeds and Runners came out.

Steve's solo record Superviolet is excellent as well. I miss them a lot.

 

Completely forgot I’m seeing these guys next month