I had been eagerly anticipating the release of Fast Times at Barrington High, the 3rd full length release from The Academy Is…, since one blistering hot June day at Warped Tour Pomona. William Beckett, TAI’s lead singer, had led on that things had strayed from their origins on their sophomore album, Santi, but–not to fret–would be back to normal for this new CD.
Fast Times… does indeed stray from Santi , but not in a way that is reminiscent of Almost Here. It almost seems as if this new release was crafted in order to be a little more mainstream for a more diverse (perhaps younger) group of listeners. Some tracks are downright poppy, like “Summer Hair = Forever Young” and “The Test”. With lyrics that reflect the high school anguish of growing up, many tracks seem to coincide well with the title of the album. Beckett begs “Tell me you’ll remember forever young. I’ll never let you fall, it’s not over yet. You and me forever, forever young” and I am surprisingly convinced to remember those days like they were yesterday.
It seems that Beckett was willing to do a little experimentation with his voice on this record. One song that stands out is “Crowded Room”. The intro he sings is different from the vocals on any of TAI’s other tracks and I think it’s interesting and not comparable to any music around these days. Unfortunately, that intro only lasts for 15 seconds and then we are back to normal Beckett.
In general, the beats on Fast Times… are lighter than on TAI’s previous releases. I would even go so far as saying that some are dance-able. Take, for instance, the chorus of “Beware! Cougar!” when Beckett sings, “Do you wanna tie me up? Do you wanna tie me down? Go ahead and do it now.” I could definitely see people in a pit dancing, jumping around, and having a grand time to this song.
While seemingly not too lyrically or melodically complex, the beats and nostalgic, carefree lyrics are infectious enough to keep me listening over and over. And while some might believe this release could never live up to the hype of being a throw back to Almost Here, if you can just delete your expectations, you might be in for a nice surprise of a very pleasing summer album that is sure to be topping your last.fm artist list for a while to come.
