The Starting Line - With Hopes of Starting Over EP
(Drive-Thru)
The genre known as "emo" has been through a lot over the years. While starting out as a sub-genre of hardcore and punk, it's turned into a pile of derivative garbage that has about as much originality as, I don't know... The Microphones (as they were directly influenced by Eric's Trip, who were directly influenced by Sebadoh, who were directly influenced by The Minutemen and Bread). And, these recent, derivative emo bands don't even derive from a very good original source. Yes, I'm talking about the Get Up Kids.
While some of the emo being produced in the mid-90s, and even now, has been really good (Sunny Day Real Estate, Joan of Arc, Cap'N Jazz, American Football, etc), it's all had a sound that deviated from the archetypes of their genre. Now, I don't know about you, but I think this says something. It says that the tired old "emo-pop" mold has just about broken. Hey, Drive-Thru Records: STOP PUTTING OUT THIS SHIT! This isn't original. In fact, it uses all of the bad "emotional" cliches to such an extreme that it's no longer even emotional.
Hey, how's that for irony? Drive-Thru Records is a shit label, as far as I know, and The Starting Line is a shit band (this I know for a fact). The EP even has a terrible "emo-ized" version of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"--dear Lord, please make it stop! There is just so much emoting vocals, palm-muted guitars, crash-heavy drums, mechanical bass and moronic lyrics about love that I can stand! My god! How did they get a record deal? Did the guys at Drive-Thru think to themselves, "Hey, here's a band with almost no potential, without any redeeming qualities, who sound like an imperfect clone of The Get Up Kids! Great! Eighth graders trying to get into punk who've heard New Found Glory will eat this up!" Ah, there it is. I've figured out the riddle.
Avoid this trite, calculated garbage at all costs.
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