The Essentials: The Academy Is...:

by: Carlos Figueroa

The Academy Is... (sometimes abbreviated TAI) is an American alternative rock band from Barrington, Illinois formed in 2003. As of 2009, the band has released three full albums, Almost Here, Santi, and their newest album, Fast Times at Barrington High.

For those of you who are into alternative rock, TAI is a band that combines great lyrics and melody with killer guitar riffs and powerful vocals by the band's vocalist, William "Bill" Beckett.

Among the bands albums, we find Almost Here (2005), Santi (2007), and Fast Times at Barrington High (2008). From these albums we can find various songs that show both the bands melodic capacities and Beckett's singing/songwriting abilities. From Almost Here, we can point out songs such as "Skeptics and True Believers", a song that exemplifies the band's use of guitar riffs. From Santi, the album anchor is "We've Got a BIg Mess in Our Hands", characterized by powerful vocals accompanied by amazing guitar riffs. It is followed closely by "Sleeping with Giants (Lifetime)", in which the band displays some of its best melodies.

Last but not least, Fast Times at Barrington High demonstrates the band's versatility by having songs that are great in vocals, melody, and lyrics. My recommendation is to listen and download the whole album, specially recommending the songs "About a Girl", which excels lyrically and vocally, "Summer Hair=Forever Young", in which the guitar steals the show (although the lyrics also shine through), and "The Test", probably the band's best ballad.

The Academy Is... is a promising band with an apparently good future ahead. With the release of their latest EP/AP, Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP, the band seems to be coming to stay as the quality of their melody and Beckett's vocals seems to be impeccable. Because of this, TAI is an essential.