I know, I know you’re probably sick and tired of 2000s band doing 20th anniversary albums. However, rock band The Academy Is… has taken a fresh spin on their newest album in 18 years. From the first glance, especially if you’re a casual fan, I doubt you would pick up how self-referential this album is and how it hints at nostalgia but doesn’t dwell on the past creating a bright new body of work which holds a new brighter future for The Academy Is….
“Did you know we could go back there,” rings through the twangy echo filled guitars communicated from soft whispering vocals by William Beckett. It’s a song that slowly builds itself from the dream like beginnings which are very clouded into a clearer indie guitar riff which is like wading through the years of nostalgia into a newer brighter era for the band. The harmonies are another component to keep an eye out for on this opening track titled ‘Up In The Air,’ to keep with the airy analogy it overall feels like something that could be on the soundtrack to the Pixar movie ‘Up!’ and it wouldn’t feel out of place.
From the softer opening track, we are led into the more rock sounding ‘Miracle.’ Saying this, the guitar tone hasn’t changed at all it is still quite bright and this is to say for almost every song on Almost There. Despite how often this song mentions death in its lyrics, which is a questionable amount, considering this is their first album in 18 years; the lyric, “I’m not dead” was quite reassuring.
‘2005’ was the first single to be released from this album and is littered with nostalgia. The lyrics divulge into how people have settled down as they’ve gotten older and reflecting on the good times back in the day. I imagine this song hits its peak nostalgia when it’s a warm, yet breezy day and you’ve just come down from your boiling hot attic and are looking through photos of your younger days. The bassline in the middle eight of the song is so satisfying to hear along with the unexpectedly crunchy, electronic guitar riff to close out.
To provide more context on the self-referential part of the album we can directly look at the title, which consequently was released in 2005. Like the first single entails. The Academy Is… first album was titled Almost Here. This new album is titled Almost There, makes you wonder where they are going. What’s the destination? Floating through time, to the present moment, the shortest song on the album is titled exactly that. ‘Floating Through Time’ is a mellow tune that is very glittery and has an angelic intro which adds to the floating feel. The choral voices continue throughout the song as it happens to be an interlude. Recommended activities to do during this interlude is contemplate the time that has passed between 2008 and now and have a small crisis at how it was 18 years ago.
After a while, you begin to wonder are we Almost There? And the ‘There’ being the end of the album. Maybe my attention span is officially fried but I began to really lose focus for the album around ‘Lost Signals’ I could’ve made a really bad pun there but I didn’t. You are welcome. The bassline carries the song which is a positive note as the chorus is highly underwhelming and it feels like how a comeback album usually does for an “older” band. Feels a bit bad to call them that actually… The feeling which is permeating this song is “We have hooked you in with the first few songs, which are arguably as good as this album is going to get… However, in this song you can hear me swear!” Which is just exhausting.
Ironically, the last song on the album titled ‘Ten Years’ has the lyric “Feels like we are falling backwards.” Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you write an album where you are looking back at all the good times throughout your life so far. The song sounds very much like something that The 1975 would release as the introduction of the saxophone is adding to the melancholic goodbye feeling of it all. A nice nod to the past was with another lyric “Sometimes, it feels like the first time.” Which it basically is if you bring in the fact that this is their first album after their comeback.
On a more hypocritical note, the track that follows “Lost Signals” is my favourite track from the record so now I just sound like a massive liar. Not that The Academy Is… ever ventured into the heavier rock dynamic however ‘Lulu Boy’ experiments with grittier guitars and implemented muffled vocals throughout which add a textured effect and revives the vibe of this album. Despite the nostalgic vibe permeated throughout the album, a rare sight in today’s music is an album with not a single sad sounding song. It’s like happiness in a bottle this album and it makes it such a refreshing comeback from the band.
The Academy Is…: Almost There – Out 27 March 2026 (I Surrender Records)
Academy Is… – Miracle (Official Audio)
