“Luck” by The Starting Line, Sunday, November 13, 2022

In 2008, The Starting Line went on hiatus. Disillusioned from the recording industry after their sophomore record and major label debut, Based on a True Story, was neglected from promotion due to the band’s label, MCA being acquired by Universal Music Group and forming the sub-label Gergen Records. This prompted the band to sign with Virgin Records and release their third record, Direction. Unlike Based on a True Story, Direction was better promoted. Still, even with the new promotion the band had enough.

GETTING CLOSE TO WHATEVER MATTERS. The Starting Line’s hiatus included a few tour dates together and live recordings. The band is yet to release a full-length follow-up record to Direction, but in 2016 they released a three-song EP titled Anyways. Lead singer Kenny Vasoli said at the Slam Dunk Records festival in 2011: “People keep asking us when we're getting back together, and the answer I have is yesterday. And what happens when bands get together? They write music. So, we have a new song for you." “Luck” is the last of the three songs on the EP but was the first of the new songs that the band wrote. The song indirectly addresses the issue that drove the band to take a break, their lack of promotion from their label. We may eventually get new music from The Starting Line as they continue to play reunion shows. The band recently played the When We Were Young in Las Vegas, the massive 3-weekend music festival. The band’s live shows and continued support from their fans is a testament to The Starting Line’s lasting impact on the emo, pop-punk scene. But what we’ve seen in recent years, a legacy band reuniting certainly isn’t the same as producing new music. What would new Starting Line music post-pandemic sound like? 

THEY USED TO TAKE YOU FOR GRANTED. Speaking of luck, I confirmed last year that The Starting Line’s “Island” (Float Away) is actually a bit of a bad luck charm for me. The line “It seems that things are always getting better” always gave me hope whenever I listened to the song. Direction is one of my go-to records for a summer or a summery spring day. But at the end of that summery spring day, a cold front blows in. It was a mantra that ended in an EF-4 tornado in college after beautiful, spring weather. Last year after writing about that track, my dad had a stroke. He’s doing better now. In life, it seems like bad luck to declare that life is getting better because the next thing is around the corner. After all, life isn’t a staircase to some glorious finish but rather peaks and valleys. Rarely do we enjoy the next level of success that transcends us to another dimension of being human. Better to think that when things are going well, they won’t always be this good. Things to think about on the thirteenth day of the month. Good luck!

Read the lyrics on Genius.