Start Static is the debut studio album released by Sugarcult, released on August 21, 2001 by Ultimatum Music. It was their first album to receive mainstream success. Background Vocalist/guitarist Tim Pagnotta founded Sugarcult in Santa Barbara, California, in 1998 with drummer Ben Davis. Bassist Airin Older joined, followed by guitarist Marko DeSantis. They released two albums, Eleven (1998) and Wrap Me Up in Plastic (2000), and two EPs, Get Street Cred (1999) and Songs About Girls (2000). The band spent October 2000 to February 2001 working on new material, including tracks such as "Stuck in America", "Crashing Down" and "Lost in You". In total, they had 24 songs to choose from for inclusion on their next album. The group sent demos to record labels, eventually signing to independent label Ultimatum Music in January 2001. Recording for their next album took place at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles, California with producer Matt Wallace in March and April 2001. He was helped by engineer Mike Landolt and assistant Posie Muliadi. Davis did additional production and engineering, as well as produce and engineer "I Changed My Name" and the hidden track. Wallace mixed the recordings with assistant Brett Nolan at Can Am Studios in May, before they were mastered by Alan Yoshida at Oceanway/JVC Mastering. Composition Musically, Start Static has been described as pop punk, pop rock and power pop, with influences from punk rock, drawing a comparison to American Hi-Fi. DeSantis gave the album its title, which Pagnotta said was a slang term for beginning a fight. DeSantis also liked that the Static part could be interpretated as the "sound your radio makes when you can’t tune in a station". The songs tackle the themes of disbelief, escapism and recklessness. With the lyrics, Pagnotta didn't feel comfortable being completely vulnerable and that he was unsure how to process his thoughts. "You're the One" opens with an Elvis Costello-esque riff; Pagnotta said he intentionally reused the riff from Costello's "Radio Radio" (1978). "Stuck in America" is about being young and wanting to leave your town. "Saying Goodbye" is about wanting a change of scenery; The Boston Phoenix writer Sean Richardson said it stars a "no-luck teenage runaway who sleeps with the boys for free". "Lost in You" is a nostalgic view of a past relationship, and was compared to the Goo Goo Dolls. Richardson wrote that the girl from "Saying Goodbye" returns in