The Academy Is… Versus Nostalgia: “Almost There” Review
Ava Lazazzera ‘26
“Almost There” album cover via albumoftheyear.org
It’s no secret that I’m fascinated by the mechanisms of nostalgia and the concept of musical legacy. So when American rock band The Academy Is… (TAI) announced “Almost There,” their fourth studio album—a follow-up eighteen years removed from 2008’s “Fast Times at Barrington High,” I knew I wanted to cover it.
Here’s the thing—TAI truly was almost there. In 2005, fresh off the release of their debut album “Almost Here,” they were poised to become the next Fall Out Boy…until they weren’t. Something about TAI just never quite clicked with the mainstream. Was 2007’s “Santi” too jarring a departure from the sound of “Almost Here?” Were they overshadowed by the meteoric rise of labelmates Panic! at the Disco? Or were they simply some of the inevitable victims of the slow decline of pop punk in the late aughts?
“Almost There” has no pretense that it’s not about the past. When it was announced, The Academy Is… wrote on Instagram, “Almost Here was the beginning. Almost There is the reflection. It’s about being alive in this moment, checking in with who you thought you’d be, seeing what changed, what stuck, and what still feels like home.”
In a way, it’s refreshing. I’ve spoken before about my cynicism towards the nostalgia circuit. It would’ve been easy for TAI to announce their “20 Years of Almost Here Tour” (which I attended…twice) and cash in without a second thought. Even if “Almost There” is fixated on the band’s bygone years, it’s at least a reflection on them and not some sort of grim attempt for the members of TAI to live out their 20s all over again.
But how does the music actually sound? Well, it’s certainly inoffensive. The ambition and urgency seen on the band’s earlier albums has mellowed into a sparkly, synthy indie rock that feels more at home as the soundtrack to washing the dishes than as something to sing along to in a crowded venue. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Dishwashing music fills an important ecological niche.
While listening, I found myself wondering if “Almost There” would have any merit for me if I wasn’t already a fan. The parts I found most interesting were the parts where I could use my own knowledge of the band’s history in order to fill in the gaps, listening carefully to the lyrics on tracks like “Snow Days” and “2005.”
Then, I found myself wondering if that really matters. What does the band have to prove? That they’re still here, I guess. But if you’re someone like me, who discovered TAI long after they had disbanded, they never really went away. TAI CDs are a mainstay in my car—singing along has kept me awake on the five hour drive back to my parents’ house more than once.
In that way, “Almost There” is more of a thank you to the fans: to the people who have been there since the beginning, to the people who came around later and, of course, to the people who spend enough money on the band to fund frontman William Beckett’s extensive jacket collection.
“Almost There” might be about the past, but it’s also a promise of a future. So thanks, guys. I’m glad you’re back, and I look forward to listening to what you have to say next.
