Almost Here - Academy Is (The) > Reviews > Sound Familiar?

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Lacking inspiration
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Very much the "in" style,
Disadvantages:	Sound similar to other bands around

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was recently introduced to the world of "The Academy Is..." when I saw them play support to Fall Out Boy in May, and if there's one important thing I feel I have to say in this review, it is that at times it can be difficult to distinguish between the two.

"The Academy Is..." is just one of a number of American punk rock/emo bands who are recently coming into the spotlight over here in the UK, falling under the same category as the afore mentioned Fall Out Boy and others such as Panic At The Disco, and after seeing them at Brixton I decided to give this album a chance.

To me it seems like a bit of a mixed product; some of the songs just seem a little plain, nothing much happens, and you're left with a nasty feeling of emptiness, as if there was more to offer but they 're holding back (either inadvertantly or through design)......while other songs show the potential that exists.

Opening track "Attention", although not exactly adventurous, does enough to introduce the style of the album and give you a general idea of what to expect, and is followed by the song which convinced me to check out the album in the first place, "Season". Extremely catchy, upbeat, and something you will easily find yourself singing along to, this is THE highlight of the album for me.

"Slow Down", "Skeptics and True Believers" and "Down And Out" are pretty much the best of the rest, all great examples of the emotion that comes through in the vocals blended with the pacey American rock sound which seems to be everywhere at the moment, as well as "Black Mamba" which was introduced at the gig as "the song which got us in a lot of trouble a few years back", basically being a song attacking the music industry.

It's not that this is a bad album; far from it, there is much worse out there. It's just that it seems a little unoriginal, a little repetitive and lacking a certain kick. It seems a shame to keep mentioning them, but if you like Fall Out Boy then you are sure to find something here to get your teeth into. As a debut it's a decent enough effort, and here's hoping they release something a little different next time around to make more of a name for themselves and escape the shadow of similar bands.