| Almost Here | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 8, 2005 | |||
| Studio | Wisner Productions (St. Cloud, Florida) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:57 | |||
| Label | Fueled by Ramen | |||
| Producer | James Paul Wisner | |||
| The Academy Is... chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Almost Here | ||||
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Almost Here is the debut studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released on February 8, 2005 by Fueled by Ramen.
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.
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]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (89%) [1] |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Melodic | [25] |
| musicOMH | [3] |
| The Skinny | [4] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.5/5 [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]
All songs written by Mike Carden and William Beckett, except "Down and Out" by Beckett. All lyrics by Beckett. [10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Adapted credits from the Almost Here liner notes. [10]
The Academy Is...
Production and design
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 |
Rufio was an American rock band from Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States, in 2000. They released four studio albums: Perhaps, I Suppose (2001); MCMLXXXV (2003); The Comfort of Home (2005); and Anybody Out There (2010).
What to Do When You Are Dead is the second studio album by American rock band Armor for Sleep. Following the completion of two songs written from the perspective of being dead, vocalist/guitarist Ben Jorgensen created a whole story from this viewpoint. What to Do When You Are Dead is a concept album, with each song telling the story of the protagonist's suicide as well as his journey through the afterlife. Recording took place between August and October 2004 with producer Machine. A rough mix of "Car Underwater" was made available in November, followed by two US tours in February 2005. What to Do When You Are Dead was released on February 22 through independent label Equal Vision Records.
The Academy Is... are an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before temporarily disbanding, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other established bands already under that name. The band has released three studio albums: Almost Here (2005), Santi (2007) and Fast Times at Barrington High (2008), along with four EPs. The band announced their disbandment on October 8, 2011. In May 2015, lead singer William Beckett announced that the band would reunite at Riot Fest 2015 in Chicago. In addition, the core members of the band, being Beckett, Mike Carden, Adam Siska, and Andy Mrotek, as well as Jamie Reed Schefman and Ian Crawford, reunited for a farewell tour that took place during December 2015. They announced that they would be reuniting again on May 11, 2022, alongside the announcement of their participation in the 2022 Riot Fest. They have since played shows opening for Fall Out Boy and in When We Were Young (festival), however have yet to announce new musical endeavors.
Based on a True Story is the second studio album by American pop punk band the Starting Line. The group's label Drive-Thru Records had a distribution deal which allowed MCA Records to acquire their bands. After MCA Records was absorbed into Geffen Records in mid-2003, the band spent most of 2004 writing and demoing songs for their next album. Following pre-production in July 2004, the band began recording for Based on a True Story, finishing in September. The album was recorded at various studios in New York state and California. Separate sessions were produced by Tim O'Heir, Howard Benson and Eric Rachel.
Life in Dreaming is Hidden in Plain View's first full-length album, released on February 22, 2005 by Drive-Thru Records.
Phantoms is the debut studio album by American rock band Acceptance, released on April 26, 2005, by Columbia. It has gained notoriety as being one of the albums released by Sony BMG in the mid-2000s containing their controversial Extended Copy Protection software package, that resulted in lawsuits and settlements to consumers.
Discovering the Waterfront is the second album by Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein. The album was promoted with three music videos for the tracks "Smile in Your Sleep", "Discovering the Waterfront", and "My Heroine".
All We Know Is Falling is the debut studio album by the American rock band Paramore, released on July 26, 2005, under the Atlantic-distributed Fueled by Ramen in the United States. Its production was handled by James Paul Wisner, Mike Green, Nick Trevisick, and Roger Alan Nichols. The departure of bassist Jeremy Davis, which occurred a few days after arriving in Orlando, served as the album's main theme. This theme was reflected especially in the album's cover and title. Mostly categorized as a pop-punk album, the album received mostly positive reviews and has been labeled a "scene classic".
The Swellers were an American punk band from Flint, Michigan. Their music is influenced by melodic punk rock, as well as alternative and indie rock bands, from the 1990s. They disbanded in 2015.
Cute Is What We Aim For was an American emo/pop-punk band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 2005, they have released two albums: The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch (2006) and Rotation (2008). They were signed to record label Fueled by Ramen for their two releases.
Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is the debut studio album by American indie pop band Hellogoodbye. Produced by Matt Mahaffey, Jeff Turzo, and Forrest Kline, the album was released on August 8, 2006 in the United States by Drive-Thru Records. The album's lead single, "Here ", reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum in the United States.
The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch is the debut studio album by American rock band Cute Is What We Aim For. Following the band's formation in early 2005, they posted demos on Myspace and PureVolume. These demos soon garnered attention from record labels. After a period of time, the group received a call from major label Fueled by Ramen founder John Janick, who signed the band in November. In February 2006, the band began recording The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch with producer Matt Squire at Salad Days Studios in Beltsville, Maryland. During the album sessions, several of the demos the band had previously posted had been re-recorded. Prior to the album's release, "The Curse of Curves" was made available for streaming in March. Following the song's availability, the band went on a couple of tours in the U.S.
Forget What You Know is the third studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the release of Living Well Is the Best Revenge (2002), MCA was merged into Geffen Records, and the band was not picked up by the latter label. The group spent time writing on their next album and following a meeting with Butch Walker, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to start recording the new material. Walker headed the producing helm and Forget What You Know was recorded in late 2003 at Ruby Red Studios. The album is classified as an emo and pop punk release; its songs were compared with those of Division of Laura Lee, Recover and Jimmy Eat World.
Santi is the second studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released on April 2, 2007 by Fueled by Ramen, Decaydance Records and Atlantic Records. It is their first release to feature Michael Guy Chislett on lead guitar after Tom Conrad's departure from the band.
Mutiny! is the debut studio album by American rock band Set Your Goals. Within the first three months of 2006, the band signed to independent label Eulogy Recordings and recorded the album with Barrett Jones in Seattle, Washington. Immediately following recording, the band embarked on two tours across the United States. Before releasing Mutiny in July, the album was preceded by the single release of the title track. The band subsequently toured the US, either as a supporting act or headlining, into mid-2007. After appearing on that year's Warped Tour, the group toured across Europe before closing out the year with another US tour.
Lifetime is the fourth album by American punk rock band Lifetime.
Daggermouth is a Canadian pop punk band that was formed in 2004 in Vancouver. They started around early 2004 quickly building a solid reputation by touring with bands such as Moneen and SNFU. Their name is a reference to a robotic fish from the Family Guy episode "A Fish Out of Water".
If You Speak Any Faster is the debut studio album released by American rock band June. It was released in August 2005 through Victory Records.
Fast Times at Barrington High is the third studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released on August 19, 2008.
...Is a Real Boy is the second studio album by American rock band Say Anything, released on August 3, 2004.
Citations
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