Almost Here
Studio album by
The Academy Is...
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2005
StudioWisner Productions (St. Cloud, Florida)
Genre
Length32:57
LabelFueled by Ramen
ProducerJames Paul Wisner
The Academy Is... chronology
The Academy
(2004)		 Almost Here
(2005)		 From the Carpet
(2006)
Singles from Almost Here
  1. "Checkmarks"
    Released: May 29, 2006
  2. "Slow Down"
    Released: June 17, 2006
  3. "The Phrase That Pays"

Almost Here is the debut studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released on February 8, 2005 by Fueled by Ramen.

Background

On April 13, 2004, the Academy Is signed to Fueled by Ramen; in the same month, they went on tour supporting Less Than Jake.[8] On July 6, 2004, a demo of "Slow Down" was posted on their PureVolume account; that same month, they went toured the US with Fall Out Boy, Armor for Sleep and Bayside.[9]

Almost Here was recorded at Wisner Productions in St. Cloud, Florida, with James Paul Wisner, who produced, engineered, and recorded the sessions. He also mixed the album with Jeremy Dubois at The Dungeon in Miami, Florida; Alan Douches mastered the album at West West Side Music.[10]

After recording the album and a doing a summer tour, the band underwent a lineup change. Tom Conrad, formerly of Chicago local band 504 Plan, replaced AJ LaTrace as second guitarist/backing vocalist and Andy Mrotek, formerly of Last Place Champs, replaced Mike DelPrincipe as the drummer. Andy Mrotek and Thomas Conrad are listed in the liner notes, but were added to the band after the recording of Almost Here to replace DelPrincipe and LaTrace, respectively.

Release

In August 2004, it was reported that the band's upcoming debut, titled Almost Here, was schueled for release early next year. Following this, they toured with the Matches, Lucky Boys Confusion and Armor for Sleep in October.[11] In January and February 2005, the band toured across the US alongside Something Corporate, Hidden in Plain View, Straylight Run,[12] and Armor for Sleep.[13] Almost Here was released on February 8 through Fueled by Ramen; it was promoted in the US with the Fueled By Ramen & Friends Tour between March and May 2005, alongside labelmates Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes, as well as Midtown and Silverstein.[14] In addition to this, they appeared at The Bamboozle festival.[15] In mid-June, a music video for "Checkmarks" premiered on Fuse's Oven Fresh programme.[16] In July 2005, the band toured with Plain White T's, Days Away and June, and appeared on the 2005 Warped Tour.[17][18] Following this, they went on a cross-country US tour with Hidden in Plain View, Spitalfield and Halifax in August and September 2005.[19]

In January 2006, the band went on a sold-out UK tour with Panic! at the Disco.[20] In February and March, the group went on the Truckstops and Statelines tour, alongside Panic! at the Disco, Acceptance and Hellogoodbye.[21] On February 21, the band released an acoustic EP, titled From the Carpet, which included three songs from Almost Here: "The Phrase That Pays", "Down and Out" and "Black Mamba".[22] The band went on the 2006 edition of the Warped Tour.[23]

The album spawned three singles: "Checkmarks", "Slow Down" (often incorrectly referred to as "Hollywood Hills"), which was chosen through an online poll on the band's website, and "The Phrase That Pays". "Classifieds" was an intended single from the album and a video was made for the song. This video was never officially released, but the video's director posted it on YouTube.[24]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk(89%)[1]
AllMusic[2]
Melodic [25]
musicOMH[3]
The Skinny[4]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[7]

The album debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, as well as at #24 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.[26] It also charted at #185 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. By May 2006, the album had sold over 144,000 copies.[27] By October 2009, the album's sales stood at 265,000.[28]

BuzzFeed included the album at number 33 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list.[29] Cleveland.com ranked "Checkmarks" at number 88 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[30]

On February 6, 2010, The Academy Is... performed a 5th Anniversary Show for the album with Sing It Loud and special guest.

On September 12, 2015, rumors were confirmed that the band would embark on a 10th Anniversary show for Riot Fest in Chicago.[31] Following the announcement of the Riot Fest reunion show, the band released dates for the 10th Anniversary U.S. tour.[32]

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Carden and William Beckett, except "Down and Out" by Beckett. All lyrics by Beckett.[10]

No.TitleLength
1."Attention"2:53
2."Season"3:34
3."Slow Down"4:02
4."The Phrase That Pays"3:17
5."Black Mamba"2:46
6."Skeptics and True Believers"2:54
7."Classifieds"2:52
8."Checkmarks"3:00
9."Down and Out"4:30
10."Almost Here"3:06
Total length:32:57

Personnel

Adapted credits from the Almost Here liner notes.[10]

The Academy Is...

  • William Beckett – vocals
  • AJ LaTrace – guitars
  • Mike Carden – guitars
  • Adam T. Siska – bass
  • Mike DelPrincipe – drums

Production and design

  • James Paul Wisner – producer, engineer, recording, mixing
  • Jeremy Dubois – mixing
  • Alan Douches – mastering
  • Evan Leake – graphic design

Charts

Album

Chart (2005) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 186
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers 7
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums 16
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums 296

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Academy Is, The - Almost Here - AbsolutePunk.net". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  2. 1 2 Almost Here at AllMusic
  3. 1 2 "The Academy Is… – Almost Here - Album Reviews - musicOMH". 6 February 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Academy Is... - Almost Here - The Skinny".
  5. ↑ McMahon, ed. 2014, p. 19
  6. ↑ Marshall, Bob (July 1, 2015). "41 Pop-Punk Albums All 2000s Kids Loved". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Review: The Academy Is... - Almost Here - Sputnikmusic".
  8. ↑ Heisel, Scott (April 13, 2004). "Fueled By Ramen signs The Academy Is…". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ Heisel, Scott (July 6, 2004). "New demo from The Academy Is… available". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Almost Here (booklet). The Academy Is... Fueled by Ramen. 2005. FBR 071.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ White, Adam (August 30, 2004). "Fueled By Ramen puts new The Academy Is… media online". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  12. ↑ Shultz, Brian (January 4, 2005). "Something Corporate / Straylight Run / Hidden In Plain View / The Academy Is". Punknews.org. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ Adams, Chip (February 1, 2005). "Armor For Sleep Launch US Tour". The Fader. Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  14. ↑ Shultz, Brian (January 19, 2005). "The Fueled By Ramen & Friends Tour 2005". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  15. ↑ Shultz, Brian (February 14, 2005). "Bamboozle lineup". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ "AbsolutePunk.net". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on November 13, 2002. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  17. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (March 3, 2005). "Warped Tour Lineup, Itinerary Officially Announced". MTV. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  18. ↑ Paul, Aubin (June 5, 2005). "The Academy Is… / Plain White T's / Days Away / June". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  19. ↑ Paul, Aubin (July 26, 2005). "Hidden in Plain View/Spitalfield/The Academy Is… dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  20. ↑ "The Academy Is… post new acoustic song, begin U.K. tour". Alternative Press. January 17, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  21. ↑ Rork, Nicole (November 30, 2005). "The Academy Is… announce 'Truckstops And Statelines' tour". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Academy Is… to release digital-only acoustic EP". Alternative Press. February 14, 2006. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Warped Tour confirms tour routing, venues, more bands". Alternative Press. March 2, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  24. ↑ Ryan Rickett (director) (2007-04-25). The Academy Is... "Classifieds" (Video). YouTube.
  25. ↑ Roth, Kaj (May 26, 2005). "The Academy Is - Almost Here". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ "The Academy Is...: Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2005.
  27. ↑ Kohli, Rohan (May 17, 2006). "Soundscan Results: Week Ending May 14th, 2006". absolutepunk.net. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  28. ↑ Bell; Harding 2009, p. 57
  29. ↑ Sherman, Maria; Broderick, Ryan (July 2, 2013). "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F----ing Die". BuzzFeed. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  30. ↑ Smith, Troy L. (March 2, 2022). "The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  31. ↑ "The Academy Is… announce 'Almost Here' 10th anniversary tour at Riot Fest - News - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  32. ↑ "The Academy Is… officially announce 'Almost Here' 10-year anniversary tour - News - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2016-02-01.

Sources

  • McMahon, James, ed. (19 September 2015). "51 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums Ever!". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group (1586). ISSN 0262-6624.
  • Bell, Crystal; Harding, Cortney (October 10, 2009). "Dance of Days". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 39. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0006-2510.
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