Let’s sail away, find our own country

Ever since I’ve been introduced to it, pop punk music has been my music staple for many years. Even now, as a grown ass man, when a good pop punk song comes on, I’m reminded of why I used to listen to it obsessively. So it’s no surprise that a lot of bands I’m writing about on my blog are from the genre. While I don’t listen to every pop punk band I used to listen to, there’s one band that has consistently rotated in and out of my playlist: The Starting Line.

I can’t exactly remember how I discovered them but the story that comes to mind would be me reading the lyrics of Photography on a friend’s blog (back then when blogs weren’t just advertorials and actually had personal content). I thought they were well written, so I decided to check them out. I was impressed, which led me to listen to their whole discography and led to me falling in love with the band. They put out their last album for a while (Direction) and went on hiatus not long after that.

But for the brief while they were around, they released some top-notch pop punk records. Kenny Vasoli’s voice is unique and goddamn does he write great lyrics. I’m a sucker for songs with sad lyrics and The Starting Line does brilliantly in that department. Also, no other band sings “I’m gonna tear your ass up like we just got married and you’re all mine now” without sounding ridiculous.

Anyway, since then I have been listening to them on and off throughout the years. Last night, Cheek To Cheek came on my playlist and I started listening to them again. Much to my surprise, I just discovered that they put out an EP last year which I’m listening to right now. The boys haven’t lost their edge, Kenny Vasoli sounds as good as ever and they still make good music. If you’re in the mood for feel good pop punk with great lyrics, The Starting Line are worth checking out. Here are my favorite tracks from the band:

The Starting Line – Playing Favorites