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.

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 also only peaked at #35 on the Billboard Alternative Songs while it did not make the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally elsewhere, the single did not chart except in Ireland, where it peaked at #47. The single was not released in the Netherlands.

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 also peaked at #12 on the Uraps Top 40 Airplay chart while it failed to chart on the UK Digital Chart, becoming their first single to do so.

In the United States, it only peaked at #35 on the Billboard Alternative Songs and did not make the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their least commercially successful single in the US. Internationally elsewhere, the single did not chart except in Ireland, where it peaked at #47.

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