Almost Here (The Academy Is... album)


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

Background

After recording the album and a doing a summer tour, the band underwent a lineup change. Tom Conrad, formerly of Chicago local band 5o4plan, replaced LaTrace as the second guitarist/backing vocalist and Andy Mrotek, formerly of Last Place Champs, replaced 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 January and February 2005, the band toured across the U.S. alongside Something Corporate, Hidden in Plain View, Straylight Run, and Armor for Sleep. Almost Here was released on February 8 through Fueled by Ramen. In mid-June, a music video for "Checkmarks" premiered on Fuse's Oven Fresh programme. Between-mid June and mid-August, the group went on the 2005 edition of Warped Tour. In January 2006, the band went on a sold-out UK tour with Panic! at the Disco. In February and March, the group went on the Truckstops and Statelines tour, alongside Panic! at the Disco, Acceptance and Hellogoodbye. 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". The band went on the 2006 edition of the Warped Tour.
The album spawned three singles: "Checkmarks", "Slow Down", 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. For unknown reasons, this video was never released, but the video's director posted it on YouTube.

Reception and legacy

The album debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, as well as at #24 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. It also charted at #185 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. By May 2006, the album had sold over 144,000 copies. By October 2009, the album's sales stood at 265,000.
BuzzFeed included the album at number 33 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list.
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. Following the announcement of the Riot Fest reunion show, the band released dates for the 10th Anniversary U.S. tour.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted credits from the Almost Here liner notes.
;The Academy Is...
;Artwork
;Production
Album
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200186
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers7
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums16
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums296