Direction is the third studio album by American pop punk band the Starting Line, released on July 31, 2007 through Virgin Records. Following the lack of promotion for their 2005 album, Based on a True Story, the band left Geffen Records in late 2005. Early the following year, they signed to Virgin and spent the remainder of 2006 writing and touring. Sessions for the album were recorded at several studios in California from February to May 2007 with producer Howard Benson. Influenced by the work of James Brown, the Starting Line's vocalist and bassist Kenny Vasoli wrote music around simple grooves instead of the uptempo style of the band's earlier material.

In June 2007, the track "Island" was released as the lead single from Direction before the Starting Line embarked on the Warped Tour the following month, during which a music video for the track was released. The album sold 20,000 first-week copies in the US, charting at number 30 on the Billboard 200, and received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with some complimenting the Starting Line's growth and the catchy songs. Following the Warped Tour, the band went on a headlining US tour and co-headlined a tour in the country with Paramore, both of which were in the fall of 2007. In early 2008, the Starting Line performed at the Soundwave Festival in Australia, prior to another headlining US tour.