Almost Here was a grand album, including such incredible tunes as slow down, the phrase that pays, and black mamba. With the addition of the new album, Santi, to their library, I have to say that The Academy Is excels in the short, fullfilling radio-friendly beat. Santi is drowning in tunes which are infinitely appealing and fun, but there really is not much else beyond that.

Sure, the lyrics are entertaining and the songs simple, but it does not take much intelligence to bop your head to the dumbed down beats which TAI offers. Undeniably, I think their a great band, and the attempt to hit the mainstream head-on is close to sure-fire success, with an album littered with simple singles, and lacking in depth. If the group could revert back to some of their older tendencies and implement some of their mainstream approaches, I think they could really hit the scene a lot harder than they already have. But with the addition of "Santi" I really don't see a tottal representation of what this group has to offer.

Stand-outs are neighbors, chop chop, and bulls in brooklyn, but ultimately; it bleeds into one 39:44 second session of enthralling yet reasonably generic music. If you're a die hard fan of this group, there are no doubts in my mind that you'll enjoy this release (or have enjoyed it already) but if you're not easily fooled by the tricks underground bands play in an effort to hit it big, then you'll probably just shrug this album off.