Nearly nine years is a long, long time to wait for new music from a band. When that music arrives, as an EP that’s only three tracks in length, it’s gotta be one hell of a record to win fans over again. In the case of The Starting Line’s new EP ‘Anyways’, it falls short of amazing but is enough to tide us over before we can see the band play at this year’s Slam Dunk Festival.
The band never reached the atmospheric heights of some of their peers but they were always a favourite among noughties pop punk fans. Their simple chords, cheeky, romantic lyrics, and easy-going vibes saw them signed to Drive Thru Records in 2001. Since then, their sound hasn’t changed that much, and it’s great to hear some old school pop-punk that still sounds new and exciting.
Title track ‘Anyways’ ambles from start to finish with a simplistic melody less than three minutes long. It won’t make anyone say “Wow!” but it’s friendly on the ears and easy to listen to. Closer ‘Luck’ is almost twice as long, but unnecessarily so. It sounds like one of the slow songs from 2007’s ‘Islands’, but without all the fun bits in between.
Middle track ‘Quitter’ is a lot more exciting, with an energetic verse that bursts into action through racing guitars and bounding drums, and a chorus built to soundtrack teen movies. It picks up even more energy towards the end and at just over two minutes long it’s a perfect example of sunny American pop punk done well.
The band want us to remember why we loved them in the first place? Don’t rely on this EP. Wait for the sun to shine, stick on ‘The Best of Me’, and head down the skate park: then they’ll be your favourite band again.
KATHRYN BLACK