Tom Lynch

As Chicago and its surrounding areas continue as a hard-workin' factory for solid, pop-punk emo-ites, bands that remotely fit into the system are jutting out of the woods, as The Academy Is...--yes, the name confusingly ends in a linking verb and ellipsis points--looks to be headed into Fall Out Boy territory. The band's new Fueled by Ramen release, "Almost Here," the same label that launched team FOB, could have just as easily been titled "Almost There." The alarmingly catching melodies, along with booming drum sounds and scratchy, woven guitar lines, drive the band to realms beyond basic broken-heart tedium, yet there's something quite adolescent and young about the whole ordeal, a missing path of experience that The Academy Is... hasn't quite trailed. But, with time, the band could even best big brother Fall Out Boy with its obvious melodic talent and lack of pretension--both qualities extremely important in the pop-punk galaxy, and two that seem to fit the band quite well.

The Academy Is...plays June 30 at the Bottom Lounge, 3206 North Wilton, (773)975-0505.

(2005-06-28)

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