Editing Palm Trees and Power Lines (section)

==Composition==
Musically, the sound ''Palm Trees and Power Lines'' has been described as [[pop punk]]<ref name=RHreview/> and [[power pop]],<ref name=Melodicreview/> drawing comparisons to [[Blink-182]].<ref name=OMHreview/><ref name=Melodicreview/> The title for the album was the result of DeSantis standing in the studio's back alley, look up at the skyline, where all he could see was palm trees and [[Electric power transmission|electrical lines]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2004/04/sugarcult-axe-man-reflects-on-album|title=Sugarcult: Axe-man reflects on album|work=The Eagle|author=Pinal, Jorge Del|date=April 15, 2004|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407173749/https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2004/04/sugarcult-axe-man-reflects-on-album|url-status=live}}</ref> a view that Pagnotta saw as a combination of "beauty and harsh reality co-existing."<ref name=SCInside/> It is named after the scenery in California where the band members live.<ref name=BV/> Retaining the format of ''Start Static'', ''Palm Trees and Power Lines'' consists of several [[uptempo]] rock songs with ballads placed throughout.<ref name=AMreview/>

[[File:Blink182.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Three men sat down looking forwards|''Palm Trees and Power Lines'' recalled the work of [[Blink-182]].]]
All of the lyrics were written by Pagnotta, while all of the music was credited to Pagnotta and the band.<ref name=PTAPLbooklet/> He would show a rough sketch of a song to the rest of the group, at which point they'd flesh it out. The tracks talk about the preceding two and half years of Pagnotta's life as a touring musician,<ref name=BV/> touching on the theme of being a traveller, determination to return home provoked by a relationship, with psychological and social struggles.<ref name=SCInside/> All of the material that ended up on the album was written over a six-week period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://65.108.164.40/interview_sugarcult_20.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321220401/http://65.108.164.40/interview_sugarcult_20.html|title=Sugarcult: An {{as written|Exc|ercise &#91;sic&#93;}} in Irony|work=[[AMP (magazine)|AMP]]|date=April 2004|archive-date=March 21, 2005|access-date=July 21, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> DeSantis referred to the album as a "document of the end of our innocence; we had toured for over 2 years non-stop and kind of became alienated from our old selves".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=702|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410015639/http://annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=702|title=Sugarcult: The Darkness of Light Revealed|publisher=Exclusive Magazine|author=Trunk, Russell A.|archive-date=April 10, 2016|access-date=July 21, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tracks 1–5===
"She's the Blade" was written when Pagnotta was playing his guitar in his bedroom. He was noodling with a chord progression that he thought was reminiscent of a transcending keyboard part – which he had admiration for [[Elvis Costello]]'s attempts at this, namely on his track "[[Radio Radio]]". Pagnotta began singing melody lines over his chosen progression until he came up with the lyric "She's the blade and you're just paper", with the rest of the song falling into place afterwards. DeSantis visited Pagnotta and the pair worked on guitar parts, one of which eventually became a keyboard part that Rechtshaid would play on the final recording. Early versions of the song included an intro guitar riff but was scrapped in favour of Livingston's [[Counting (music)|count-in]]. Similarly the track used to have a middle section of [[Twelve-bar blues|12-bars]] that Pagnotta referred to as "bad classic rock", which was removed at MacKillop's insistence.<ref name=SCInside/>

"Crying" was written over the course of six months, with Pagnotta only having a guitar riff for the pre-chorus and main chorus for long period of time. He said the bridge section was reminiscent of [[U2]], specifically the use of a [[floor tom]] to keep time, as heard on some U2 songs on their ''[[War (U2 album)|War]]'' (1983) album. He added a guitar solo to the track, three days prior to it being mixed. Though Pagnotta disliked it, MacKillop kept it in the final mix. Cullen is singing harmonies on the song; during the recording of this, and since he felt the ending was too sparse, Pagnotta came up with a lyric for the song's outro.<ref name=SCInside/> "Memory" was first song finished for the album, dating at least a year prior to when they recorded it.<ref name=TWCinterview/> Pagnotta wrote it about a person he met while touring in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. During this time he had just gotten out of a relationship and was cautious about starting another. He began daydreaming about how a relationship with the person from Boston wouldn't work. He then picked up his guitar and started strumming chords, writing what would ultimately become "Memory".<ref name=SCInside/>

Pagnotta kept "Worst December" a secret for sometime, he reasoned that as the lyrics were "a bit confessional in regards to a relationship", he worried that his partner would find the lyric sheet and they'd "have to confront our issues."<ref name=SCInside/> The music of the track was influenced by Bright Life, a band from the group's hometown, who Pagnotta applauded for the usage of [[open chord]]s in their material. Livingston keeps time in the song using the edge of his [[Tom-tom drum|tom]], resulting in a clock-like ticking sound which gave the track "a nice ambient space."<ref name=SCInside/> It ties into one of the two lyrical themes (space), with the other about being away from home.<ref name=SCInside/> "Back to California", which had a similar structure to "[[Stay Together for the Kids]]" by Blink-182,<ref name=OMHreview/> was written about returning home from touring solely to break up with a partner.<ref name=BV/> When Pagnotta showed the track to Livingston, the pair started talking about [[Jimmy Eat World]]'s use of hand percussion, which found its way into the song's intro. It featured several stacked vocal parts and [[Call and response (music)|call-and-response]] harmonies during the chorus, which Pagnotta heard when listening to [[The Carpenters|Carpenters]] albums during his childhood.<ref name=SCInside/>

===Tracks 6–12===
During an off-day in the first week of pre-production, Pagnotta arrived at the studio early and began playing drums while vocalising melodies. He based this off the group [[Spoon (band)|Spoon]], whose music arrangements revolved around the drums and vocals. He began singing what would become "Destination Anywhere"; when Livingston arrived at the studio the pair started fleshing out the remainder of the song. At the group's next practice session bassist Airin Older came up with a riff that Pagnotta said was a mix between "[[New Year's Day (U2 song)|New Year's Day]]" by U2 and several [[Motown#Motown sound|Motown]] tracks, while DeSantis added [[Stab (music)|stabs]] in the vein of British [[Mod (subculture)#Music|mod]] music. Upon MacKillop hearing it, he remarked it sounded like [[INXS]], to which the band was "all shocked in horror."<ref name=SCInside/> The vocals for the track had to be re-recorded twice over as MacKillop thought it need to come across as intimate-sounding; a [[Moog synthesizer|moog]] riff was added in the bridge.<ref name=SCInside/>

"Champagne" is about Pagnotta's relationship with the group's former drummer Davis. He started writing it before Davis' departure when he noticed how different Davis was acting since he became an alcoholic.<ref name=BV/> It bounces between first-and-third person views; Pagnotta referred to it as [[the Cars]] "on steroids."<ref name=SCInside/> It was the last track finished during recording, and was mixed by Trombino, which Pagnotta felt added a denser layer to the song that they hadn't thought about. "What You Say" resulted from an in-the-moment jam session between Livingston and Pagnotta.<ref name=SCInside/> It was compared to the [[Foo Fighters]];<ref name=Melodicreview/> the guitar riff specifically recalled the one heard in "[[Breed (song)|Breed]]" by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]].<ref name=OMHreview/> "Over" existed as a verse section for a few weeks; Pagnotta didn't feel it was fleshed out enough to share with the rest of the band. When the band was recording drums, Pagnotta showed Livingston and MacKillop a complete chorus section. The trio worked on it and planned to record it the following day, which by then they tracked it in 30 minutes. DeSantis suggested a [[Break (music)|rhythm break]] before the last chorus, which was then added to the track.<ref name=SCInside/>

"Head Up" evolved out of an idea that was written backstage during a show while in Belgium. The opening act was playing onstage upstairs while Pagnotta was downstairs attempting to track the idea into his recorder. Unable to hear the key of the chords, he recorded a tiny bit and fleshed out the song during soundcheck with the rest of the band the following day. It talks about remaining positive when you're doing something that other people may not like, something that Pagnotta felt after dropping out of education to focus on music. The chord progression for "Counting Stars" existed for about two months, during this time Pagnotta was unable to come up with any melodies or lyrics.<ref name=SCInside/> Pagnotta said he received test results from his doctor saying he was ill, only for further results nine days later to say he was okay. Between these results he wrote the lyrics to "Counting Stars", which acted as "an apology for anything I may have done wrong to hurt the world, people, friends."<ref name=BV>Shari Black Velvet 2004</ref> On the final recording, a friend of the band contributed what Pagnotta referred to as"sounds with his guitar that sounded like animals dying."<ref name=SCInside/> The closing track, "Sign Off", was written by Pagnotta as he sat on the end of his bed. He explained that partway through the making of the album he felt lonely, confused and sad while questioning his life.<ref name=BV/> It was recorded in the back room at the studio solely by Pagnotta, with some overdubs from MacKillop.<ref name=SCInside/>