Dive In: Volume 1 - TAI... Almost Here
Do you remember 2005? The simple times. One Chicago band was setting the pop-rock world on fire [more on them another time I’m sure] and The Academy Is... were just about to.
Signed to the aforementioned Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz’s record label they had a little helping hand with support slots on tours, guest spots on albums [Sophomore Slump of Comeback of The Year & 7 Weeks], and MySpace talk but not in vein as their debut album Almost Here proved that the hype was right.
The album starts so breezy, the first chime of guitar and William Bekcett’s silk tongue lull you into a lullaby on those first 3 tracks, you can see why when teaching myself drums I’d warm up with these songs, so by the time you’re on to The Phrase That Pays you’re ready for something more and TAI... give it to you “so take a chance and make it big cos it’s the last you’ll ever get”, “I make plans to break plans” over more aggresive guitar delivers on the promise of a band with guitars in the mid 2000′s from Chicago. The next track, Black Mamba is my favourite and most hated song from the album - as someone who’s worked in a department store since graduatiing from a media degree the line “go work in retail spare the suspense” hits home way too hard, but back in my college days this was an anthem. There’s an acoustic version of this on their brilliant 2006 EP “From The Carpet” go and listen to that.
Completing this simple yet beautiful record is Down and Out, it starts by eloquently telling us about a girl leaving a guy who beats her “runs for the hills and doesn’t leave a letter, that way the impact will be much better” that line in particular conveys the style of this band and in particular the singer to me. It’s a desperately sad subject, but they engage you with venom. Finally the title track, Almost Here, which for me always felt like it belonged at the start of the album rather than the end [perhaps for the 20th anniversary they’ll do like Kendrick and release it back to front] the albums ends with echoes “Our time is almost here, our time is almost here” and it was, the next couple of years brought bigger success with the release of Santi, an appearance on the single for the soundtrack of Snakes on A Plane because it was 2006 and then things died down after Fast Times at Barrington High, by then you can hear that the band were approaching the end but there are beautiful moments accross that album and it made me buy His Girl Friday on dvd so there’s a couple of positives.
