The Starting Line

Say It Like You Mean It (2002)

WussEmoRock

Before I even start this review I want everyone to go into it with an open mind. Please, for your own sake, do so. If you know right now that you are going to be bias and throw this band into your typical pop punk category and not give them a chance, then please; for everyones sake, just stop reading right now.

Alright, now that we have gotten rid of 95% of the people that were going to read this, I would like to start off with saying The Starting Line are the typical pop punk band with nothing new to offer. But, who ever said that is a bad thing? In my opinion, just because a band isn't showing the world something totally new and original it doesn't mean we should shun them away. The Starting Line are a great band that are very enjoyable to listen to, and they do what they do very, very well.

TSL starts the CD off with a great song called "up and go," that has standout vocals that sound absolutely outstanding while covering your average pop punk palm muting. My ony problem with songs like this, and even their bigger songs like "leaving" is that I can't ever listen to the whole thing. Because, when you get to the end it is so annoying/boring to hear the same chorus sung 4 or 8 more times, when you have already heard it at least 3 other times thru out the song. That is my only complaint with this cd, it happens far too much.

The next song on the cd is "given the chance," a song Kenny (vocals, bass) wrote about how excited and thrilled he is to be playing music for a living and how it is a dream come true for himself ("I guess dreams do come true this song itself is living proof"). "The best of me" is a great song that is the one they are pushing over at Drive-Thru right now on their main page, so who knows, maybe a video is instore for this song in the near future. Then come a few mediocre songs on the disc, "A Goodnight's Sleep," "Left Coast Envy," and actually thats about it. Even those two are very good songs that do not deserve to be passed up.

"Hell Houston" is a good song, but the beginning sounds identical to a Blink song, I swear to god it is unreal how alike it sounds, only the first 6 seconds though. The second to last song called "The Drama Summer" is an acoustic song that is pretty good, nothing exciting. It could actually fit under the mediocre section of the cd for sure. My favorite song on the disc would have to be "Saddest Girl Story," and you can't forget about "Almost There, Going Nowhere," "This Ride," "Decisions, Decisions," and "Cheek to Cheek."

One thing that you should all know is how much better the lyrics are in this cd than most pop punk albums about girls. Yes, the songs are still about girls, but it's a little different. Here's how: Kenny writes songs like he and a girl are talking, for instance in the song "Hello Houston," it looks like this in the lyric book: Kenny: "speak to me," Karina: "what can I say? We just live too far away." Kenny: "That's a shame that love can't make you stay."

Now from what I have stated above, you should all realize that if you are into any form of pop punk than this is a great record for you, but remember, it is nothing ground breaking, but will keep you entertained for hours on end. If you like one song, you will love them all, so please, put all your drive-thru comments behind, all your pop punk is gay comments behind, and just take a listen to this album, I promise, it will not disappoint.