NEW YORK, NY (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) - Fueled By Ramen recording group The Academy Is... has unveiled details of their eagerly awaited second album. Dubbed "SANTI," the follow-up to 2005's breakthrough debut, "ALMOST HERE," lands in stores on April 3rd.
The Chicago-based band will blaze a trail for "SANTI" with a special one-off New York City club date, set for February 20th at Irving Plaza. Tickets for the show go on sale on February 3rd.
Produced by the one and only Butch Walker (All-American Rejects, Midtown, Hot Hot Heat), "SANTI" marks a major leap forward for The Academy Is..., both in terms of sonic strength and artistic vision. The band reveals a unique gift for stadium-sized melodies and unstoppable hooks, with songs such as the first single, "Big Mess On Our Hands Tonight," given striking identity via Beckett's emotive, idiosyncratic vocals and honest, expansive lyricism. Raw yet rich, complex but immediate, "SANTI" instantly catapults The Academy Is... to the front ranks of modern American rock bands.
Formed in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates back in 2002, The Academy Is... captured attention right from the start with their inventive, electrifying take on expressive punk-inspired rock 'n' roll. Released in February 2005, the band's debut album, "ALMOST HERE," earned unanimous critical acclaim, with Alternative Press declaring it a "bona-fide punk-pop masterpiece."
The Academy Is... toured nearly non-stop behind the album's release, sharing stages coast-to-coast with such like-minded outfits as Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, and All-American Rejects. In 2006, the band embarked on its own rapturously received headline trek, topping a bill that also featured Hellogoodbye and Fueled By Ramen's own Panic! At The Disco. With a fervent fanbase growing daily, The Academy Is... spent last summer winning over mainstage crowds on the annual Vans Warped Tour, while behind the scenes, they focused on penning new material for what would become the sophomore "SANTI."
Last summer, frontman Beckett was a featured vocalist on "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)," the No 1 single from FBR labelmates Cobra Starship. The track - which saw Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta joined by a number of special guests, including Beckett, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds, and All-American Rejects guitarist Nick Wheeler - hit the No 1 spot at both Hot AC and Triple A radio formats while also logging widespread airplay at Alternative outlets nationwide. In addition, the "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)" companion video - which includes an appearance from Samuel L. Jackson - reached the No 1 spot at MTV2 and Fuse, while receiving "Summa Cum Laude" airplay at mtvU.
In October, The Academy Is... was honored with a trio of mtvU Woodie Awards nominations, including the prestigious "Woodie of the Year" and two "Streaming Woodie" nods - presented to the year's Most Downloaded Videos - for the "Checkmarks" and "Slow Down" clips.
