Fast Times at Barrington High - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
The Academy Is… returns with the follow up to their critically acclaimed album Santi. After wrapping their 2007 Sleeping with Giants U.S. tour they headed into the studio with Sam Hollander & Dave Katz (Gym Class Heroes, Metro Station) to work on Fast Times at Barrington High. This new album was recently described by lead singer William Beckett to Newsday as "a celebration of youth" with songs about enjoying life. He also recently spoke to Rolling Stone about how easily the album came together, saying, "I would compare it to starting over. [It's] the way we felt on [2005's] Almost Here."

Album Description
The Academy Is returns with the follow up to their critically acclaimed album Santi. After wrapping their 2007 Sleeping with Giants U.S. tour they headed into the studio with Sam Hollander & Dave Katz (Gym Class Heroes, Metro Station) to work on Fast Times at Barrington High. This 2008 album was recently described by lead singer William Beckett to Newsday as 'a celebration of youth' with songs about enjoying life. He also recently spoke to Rolling Stone about how easily the album came together, saying, 'I would compare it to starting over. [It's] the way we felt on [2005's] Almost Here.' Their first single is 'About A Girl'. They will appear on Warped Tour 2008 running June through August before teaming up with Panic at the Disco and Cobra Starship for an Australian tour at the end of August.

Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

I don't Understand... August 19, 2008
7 out of 13 found this review helpful

The first thing that came to mind when i first heard the details of this album were simply "Huh?", why would a band regress in maturity so explicitly?? if santi had one thing it was a progression of maturity within lyrics and theme, but its just strange to me that a band would create an album about high school when there in their mid-20's. As far as lyrical content goes, william is below average at best on this one..

now ive been a fan since before almost here was released and i just can't get into this cd much at all, they seem to have ditch all that they were known for to simply put out a feel good summer record, i am still a fan, and i will still continue to follow this band but they need to do better than this, overall after four listens throughim finding this to be very generic and im hoping somehow their next effort will finally showcase some progression from almost here, because this is the one band i never wanted to see fall into the generic pool of rock acts today..

4 out of 5 stars

The Academy Is... back again...! Well, sort of. August 24, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I've been a fan of The Academy Is before their debut album hit 'Almost Here', which was a work of pure genius. They came out of the scene and proved to be a fresh, new sound with catchy instruments and the how-can-you-not-like-him attitude of singer William Beckett.

And then they came out with 'Santi', which to me, was NOT a very good album. The songs never grew on me and it was an overall dissapointment.

I'm glad to say that after listening to 'Fast Times at Barrington High', The Academy Is... are back again. Well, sort of. Once again, they changed their sound a bit, and I'd say this album is the most mainstream out of all three. Not saying that's a bad thing. In short, their new sound is very smooth. Think 'The All-American Rejects' but with a better singer. The first 3 tracks on 'Fast Times' (which also happens to be the best tracks) sums up what the album is... a lot of catchy overdrive guitars, good drum beats, and more of William Beckett's vocal talent. The lyrics are sometimes a bit cheesy, but hey, who doesn't love cheese?

Give it a try! You may think it's better than Almost Here. (But I doubt it!) *4 / 5 stars*

5 out of 5 stars

Very Excellent Album August 20, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

For the reviewer above me, don't you get it?! Not very many band's want to create the same album over and over for their entire career! It is a little bit odd that all of the songs are about girls, but at least their moving in a fresh new direction. Besides, think to yourself, if they had released an album like Almost Here instead of Santi and Barrington High, wouldn't it get repetitive? I think that this a wonderful album and you should have listened to it on their myspace then left them well alone.

4 out of 5 stars

Enjoying The Fast Times! August 26, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Why did a band that was seemingly maturing, turn back time to relive high school glory days? I don't know exactly but they do the job quite well. It's a gamble when a band goes for the thematic concept album. Some are hits (Pink Floyds' The Wall) and others are misses (Smashing Pumpkins' Machina). However, "The Academy Is..." pulls it off on songs like "About A Girl", "Summer Hair (Forever Young)", and "Beware Cougar!". The music represents high school -- it's fun yet at times, complicated. It's a time to enjoy the freedoms of youth, yet also a time to look toward the next chapter in life. "The Academy Is..." captures that feeling perfectly. Although the album lacks the musical and emotional depth of "Santi", it's fitting. These songs are from the perspective of an 18 year old kid that is coming of age, so to speak. This album is almost a prelude to "Almost Here" and "Santi" - a back story - and a very enjoyable one at that. As William Beckett sings in "After the Last Midtown Show": "Right here, the best days of our lives". Very true.

4 out of 5 stars

The Academy Is...BACK! August 27, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

After being severely disappointed with the sophomorically jinxed Santi (critically acclaimed, really?), I was pleasantly surprised to see this band back to form. This is no Almost Here (and I wouldn't want it to be) but it is far superior to Santi. The melodies and riffs are back and I can't stop humming most of the songs. Some bands never learn from their mistakes and I can tell that The Academy Is...did. Automatic Eyes is easily my favorite song while His Girl Friday can be kind of annoying. Overall, I think this album will bring back fans of the band who had given up on them after Santi. Welcome back guys!

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