So interesting because those two are in my bottom half haha. My favorites right now are Snow Days, Miracle, and Lulu Boy.
Love this! Downloaded an “early version” and listened to it while taking my son to track practice late yesterday afternoon. We got to the interlude on the way there, which was perfect for that vibe and then the back half really hit as the sun was setting on the way home. This is going to be in steady rotation for the next 6 months.
This is soooooo freaking good. Jason described it accurately. Today ended up being the perfect Spring day, comfortable temps, and sunny as can be. My husband was fishing with our neighbor at a lake next to a shopping center, and I had to go run him his wallet. Ended up getting the car washed and grabbed some lunch jamming to it. This is going to be high on my end-of-year list for sure. Perfect timing.
The hooks on some of these songs are so good. I still don’t love the dream pop feel because I can hear how some of them would explode (Lost Signals!!!!!!!!) in the bands prior life, but I can appreciate how well they’re done.
I recently did a deep dive on the initial end of the band and from what I understood the had a 4th album mostly done but the label didn't like the more synth/keyboard influenced pop sound and wanted them to write more pop-punk/rock stuff. They were a bit early to the indie pop synth sound that got really popular just a few years later. Seems like they came back and did pretty much want they wanted to do back then. I wonder if any of these songs had origins from around that post Fast Times era.
A lot of the details I'm referencing are from an Adam Siska interview from 2019 https://www.altpress.com/the-academy-is-unreleased-album-four/ I think the LP4 material from circa 2010 was written after the 2009 EP but "Sputter" did provide a hint of their new direction with the piano part.
Is the "We would spend the whole damn day in bed" lyric on L Train an intentional callback to 3EB - Losing a Whole Year? Just (maybe) picked up on it lol
They talked a bunch about the scrapped album during that first run of almost here shows. Sounds like it was ahead of its time and they believe people would have dug it over time. Would love to hear it! In my mind there’s an academy is album that is akin to folie a deux just sitting on a shelf. psyched with what we did get. It’s a killer comeback record imo
I’m split as I love this album and think it does what it does really well. A very pleasant, easy listen. Perfect for Spring. I would like new material down the road with more energy - not a nostalgia throwback sound by any means, just less breezy, more rocky vibes. Crazy that “Santi” is 19. I remember being so hyped for that album at 16 as I had discovered them a bit after AH came out. Loved Big Mess, Neighbours, Bulls, Midtown Show, LAX. Shout out to the b side Ghost. I was obsessed with the music video for Everything We had. What a teenage break up anthem.
Just enjoyed a very nice, isolated listen with AirPods Max 2. Adore this album. Initially I thought I would miss having at least one song with more punch, but in the end, I wouldn’t change one thing.
Listened twice today. This is a "nice" album. It makes me feel "nice". William's vocals on this remind me a lot of The War on Drugs.
Finally got around to this album and I enjoy it but haven't listened to it enough to have a very interesting opinion. I went in blind and ignoring anything about the new album and songs so it was a nice lil treat to hear the evolution. Feels like a natural place for them to end up in.
Got a couple more plays in. Miracle, 2005, Snow Days, and Ten Years are my favorites in no particular order. The synthy Snow Day opening simultaneously reminds me of some of such great heights by postal service and bullet binary by MWY. Cant unhear it.