To Move On

"To Move On" is a song by American alternative/indie band Curriculum. Written by band members Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, and Wyatt van Cleef, and produced by band member Dana Breckenridge, the song was sent to radio on 21 July 2014 and released as the third single from the band's second studio album Sophomore album.

The song lyrically has an ambiguous message as it is either about obsession, addiction, or having tenacity. Sonically, the song has what is described as a "dark and brooding" indietronica vibe to it.

Released on 21 July 2014, the single's release was announced the week before and was therefore rush-released "at the last minute". The band did minimal promotion for the single which was released the same day as their newest EP Flunking Out.

Due to its rush-release and low promotion, the single almost became the band's first single to miss the top ten in the UK after it debuted at #11 on the UK Singles Chart. In its second week, however, the single peaked at #8, preserving the band's top ten streak.

Background and writing
"To Move On" was written and recorded in 2013. The song was written by Olivier, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef and produced by Breckenridge. The band wanted to make a "dark and brooding" but also "somewhat lazy" song, essentially deciding to put more emphasis on the chorus than the verses which they decided to "throw together".

Lyrically, the song has an ambiguous message as it could either be about obsession with a love interest, addiction to anything that possible to get addicted to, or having a tenacious personality and essentially never wanting to give up on anything that one feels is still possible to resolve. While doing the Spotify commentary for their album Sophomore and explaining the track, the band stated that the song was both about addiction and obsession but has since stated that it could be about either/or.

Compositon
Sonically, "To Move On" is an alternative/indie pop song that has a strong indietronica influence. Some consider it a "mid-tempo ballad". It is considered to have a "dark and brooding" vibe to it, presenting it with a serious tone. The song does not necessarily have constructed verses as the verses are "thrown together" by talking, ad-libs, chanting, and instrumentation. The song does have a definite chorus which changes at the end of the song.

van Cleef starts the song by talking in the first verse while Olivier starts to sing on the chorus. Throughout the song, he harmonizes with Mandelbaum. van Cleef sings later on in the second verses. On the final chorus, all of the members contribute vocals while harmonizing.

Release and promotion
The band scheduled to release "To Move On" on 21 July 2014 and announced its release one week before. The song was officially released as a single when it was sent to radio though it was already available for streaming and as a digital download since it was already apart of the already-released Sophomore album.

Though sent to radio as the third official single from Sophomore on 21 July 2014, no other formats were planned or made for the single, including physical formats such as CD single or vinyl. It is the band's first single to not have a physical format or even a digital EP.

Promotion for the single was very minimal, mainly due to the fact that the band mostly focused on promoting their EP Flunking Out which was released the same day. The band has since stated that they probably plan on re-releasing the single with more "dedication" to its promotion.

Critical reception
The song received mostly positive reviews for its production and vocal performances from the band. The song did receive some criticism for its sparse lyrics and its message, though the latter was also praised by other critics as well.

Commercial performance
Commercially, due to its rush-release and low promotion, the single became the band's lowest performing release in their career. Memorably, it peaked at #11 on the UK Singles Chart and missed the top ten. It peaked at #12 on the Uraps Top 40 Airplay chart, becoming their first single to miss the top ten on the airplay charts since "Honeymoon Anthem" peaked at #18. It also failed to chart on the UK Digital Chart, becoming their first single to do so.

Commercially, due to its rush release and low promotion, the single became the band's least commercially successful single internationally, though it became another top ten hit for them in the UK.

United Kingdom
"To Move On" nearly became the band's first single to miss the top ten after it debuted at #11 on the UK Singles Chart. The single sold 46,082 copies in its first week.

In its second week, "To Move On" rose and peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart, preserving the band's top ten streak since the beginning of their career.

The single has stayed on the chart for two weeks and has sold 82,392 copies in total.

On the UK Top 40 airplay chart, the single has peaked at #12. The single debuted at #13 on the UK Digital Chart, one week after its official release.

Internationally
In the United States, "To Move On" only peaked at #26 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Though it has since debuted at #16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart (which is for songs that have yet to reach the Billboard Hot 100), "To Move On" is the band's least successful single in the US.

In Ireland, the single debuted at #47 and then rose to #8 in its second week.

Internationally elsewhere, the single did not chart. Due to its worldwide commercial "underperformance", the song was not released as a single in the Netherlands.