Direction (album)

Direction
Studio album by The Starting Line
Released July 31, 2007
Recorded February–May 2007
Studio Bay 7 Studios, Valley Village, Sparky Dark Studio, Calabasas, California
Genre Alternative rock, pop punk
Length 40:39
Label Virgin
Producer Howard Benson
The Starting Line chronology
Based on a True Story
(2005)		 Direction
(2007)		 Somebody's Gonna Miss Us
(2009)
Singles from Direction
  1. "Island"
    Released: June 19, 2007

Direction is the third studio album by The Starting Line, following Based on a True Story.

Background

The Starting Line released their debut album Say It Like You Mean It in July 2002.[1] The music video for its lead single "The Best of Me" became a staple of music TV, and the group appeared on the cover of multiple magazines.[2] Geffen Records were unhappy with the demos the band submitted for their next album,[3] telling them to start the writing process all over again. As a result, the band were unable to tour for a whole year.[2] Based on a True Story was eventually released in May 2005.[4] Shortly after its release, Geffen Records de-prioritized the album and, as a result, despite the band's increasing popularity, provided very little promotion for its lead single.[5]

From late September to late November, the group went on the Nintendo Fusion Tour.[6] For the outing, Brian Schmutz joined the band as a touring keyboardist.[7] On November 3, the band announced they had left Geffen Records and were in discussions with other labels. The group were aiming to have another album out by spring 2006, with 12–15 songs already written for it.[8] They spent the next two months meeting with various labels.[7] On January 3, 2006, it was announced that the band had signed to Virgin Records.[9] Virgin president Jason Flom signed the group after watching one of their live performances.[5]

Between early February and early April, the group went on a headlining US tour, dubbed the Screaming Is for Babies tour.[10] In an interview during the tour, guitarist Matt Watts said Schmutz was still a touring member, but was expected to appear on their next album. Following the tour's conclusion, the group took a one–two month break to write their next record.[3] In June and July, the group spent time writing new material and demoing songs. By August, they had 12 songs, and were planning to write around 10 more before recording.[11] In October and November, the band supported The All-American Rejects on their Tournado 2006 tour in the US.[12]

Production and composition

In February 2007, the group started recording,[13] and were adding the final touches in May.[11] Sessions took place at Bay 7 Studios, Valley Village and Sparky Dark Studio in Calabasas, California. Benson acted as producer, while Mike Plotnioff was in charge of recording. Hatsukazu Inagaki served as engineer with technical assistance from Chris Concepcion.[14] During the sessions, guitarist Matt Watts used a variety of Les Paul guitars that he owned and some he borrowed from Benson. He used this specific brand of guitars because the sound "is so thick that I don’t need any pedals to fill it out".[2]

Benson added keyboards and programming to the recordings. Kenny Aronoff was brought in to add drums to "21", "Island" and "What you Want". Luis Conti contributed percussion to "21", "Island", "Hurry", "Something Left to Give", "Need to Love" and "What You Want". Jamie Muhoberac added keyboards to "What You Want". Chris Lord-Alge mixed the recordings at Resonate Music in Burband, California with assistance from Nik Karpen. Ted Jensen then mastered the recordings at Sterling Sound.[14]

Taking influence from soul singer James Brown, Vasoli wrote music that focused more on simplistic grooves rather than the fast-paced nature of their past work.[13] Watts had a similar desire to branch out of the group's pop punk sound, incorporating delay-driven parts, hammer-ons, pull-offs and complex harmonies.[2] According to Vasoli, "Direction" was about "growing, improving and continuing evolution on your own personal level."[11] With "21", Vasoli looks back on his age and questions the amount of responsibility he needs.[13] Watts said "Somebody's Gonna Miss Us" was written about people who expected the band to write "The Best of Me" again.[3] "Need to Love" was the first track written for the album. Vasoli said it was filled with "visualizations from riding a New York City train to Philadelphia."[13] In "What You Want", Vasoli describes his feels to his own songs.[13]

Release

On May 3, 2007, "Direction" was made available for streaming.[15] Four days later, Direction was announced for release in July.[16] "Island" was made available for streaming on May 17.[17] It was released as a single on June 19,[18] before being released to radio a week later.[19] From early July to late August, the band went on the Warped Tour.[20] On July 18, a music video was released for "Island".[21] It was filmed in California in early June.[22] Direction was made available for streaming on July 27,[23] before being released on July 31 through Virgin Records.[16] In September and October, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Permanent Me and Four Year Strong.[24]

In October and November, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with Paramore. Set Your Goals opened the first half of the tour, while the Almost opened the second half.[25] The band performed a few headlining shows with the Almost in December.[26] In March and April 2008, the band went on a headlining tour across the US with support from Bayside, Four Year Strong.[27] and Steel Train.[28] The band subsequently appeared at the Bamboozle Left[29] and Bamboozle festivals.[30] Following this, the band went on indefinite hiatus. They explained: "Imagine getting your first job when you were 15 years old and doing that exact same job for the rest of your life. ... eventually you need to stop for a minute and see what else is out there."[31]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk85%[32]
AllMusic[33]
Alternative Press[34]
The Aquarian WeeklyFavorable[35]
The A.V. ClubB-[36]
BlogcriticsFavorable[37]
Melodic[38]
Punknews.org[39]
SpinMixed[40]

The album debuted at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week.[41] idobi Radio included the album on their best of 2007 list.[42]

Track listing

Track listing per booklet.[14]

No.TitleLength
1."Direction"3:54
2."21"2:29
3."Are You Alone"3:21
4."Island"3:42
5."Hurry"2:52
6."Something Left to Give"3:34
7."Birds"3:27
8."Way with Words"3:43
9."I Could Be Wrong"3:55
10."Somebody's Gonna Miss Us"2:53
11."Need to Love"3:22
12."What You Want"3:18

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Say It Like You Mean It - The Starting Line | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bayer, Jonah (August 10, 2007). "The Starting Line's Matt Watts: Call It a Comeback". Gibson. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Kohli, Rohan (March 14, 2006). "Starting Line, The - 03.12.06". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Based on a True Story - The Starting Line | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Loftus, Johnny. "The Starting Line | Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Paul, Aubin (July 26, 2005). "First leg of dates for Nintendo Fusion Tour with Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, others". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "News". The Starting Line. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Starting Line = Most Eligible Bachelors". Alternative Press. November 3, 2005. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ "AP Exclusive: The Starting Line sign to Virgin Records". Alternative Press. January 3, 2006. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Starting Line Headline Tour!". The Starting Line. Archived from the original on December 13, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "News". The Starting Line. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ "All-American Rejects touring w/the Starting Line, Motion City". Alternative Press. September 19, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 SPIN Staff (February 9, 2007). "In the Studio: The Starting Line". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Direction (Booklet). The Starting Line. Virgin Records. 2007. 0946 3 53613 2 2.
  15. ↑ "The Starting Line post title track off new album". Alternative Press. May 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Wippsson, Johan (May 9, 2007). "The Starting Line Return With New Label, New Record, Warped Tour". Melodic. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  17. ↑ "The Starting Line post another track off new album". Alternative Press. May 17, 2007. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Island (Float Away) - Single by The Starting Line". iTunes. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  19. ↑ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Throwdown added to Warped 07; Madina Lake drop off". Alternative Press. April 26, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ Wippsson, Johan (July 18, 2007). "New Video From The Starting Line!". Melodic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  22. ↑ "News". The Starting Line. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  23. ↑ Paul, Aubin (July 27, 2007). "The Starting Line: "Directions"". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  24. ↑ Reinecker, Meg (August 1, 2007). "The Starting Line / Permanent Me / Four Year Strong". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Paramore/Starting Line co-headlining dates (finally) revealed". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  26. ↑ "The Starting Line confirm December dates with the Almost". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. October 22, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  27. ↑ "The Starting Line, Bayside touring together this spring". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. January 6, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  28. ↑ Reinecker, Meg (March 8, 2008). "The Starting Line taking "break"". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Blaqk Audio, Hot Water Music, H2O added to Bamboozle Left". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Chiodos, Finch, the Starting Line, Senses Fail on Bamboozle 08". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. November 9, 2007. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  31. ↑ "The Starting Line to take indefinite hiatus". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. March 5, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  32. ↑ Tate, Jason (June 21, 2007). "Starting Line, The - Direction". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  33. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Direction at AllMusic
  34. ↑ Alternative Press review
  35. ↑ Muir, Courtney (August 15, 2007). "The Starting Line: Direction". The Aquarian Weekly. Diane Casazza, Chris Farinas. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  36. ↑ "The A.V. Club review". Archived from the original on 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  37. ↑ "Blogcritics review". Archived from the original on 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  38. ↑ Winberg, Pär (July 18, 2007). "The Starting Line - Direction". Melodic. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Punknews.org review". Archived from the original on 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  40. ↑ Young, Jon (August 17, 2007). "The Starting Line, 'Direction' (Virgin)". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  41. ↑ Katie Hasty, "Common Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200" Archived 2015-01-24 at the Wayback Machine., Billboard.com, August 8, 2007.
  42. ↑ "idobi Radio's Best Of 2007: Albums you should've picked up in 2007". idobi. idobi Network LLC. January 1, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
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