HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Fast Times at Barrington High – The Academy Is…

Cast your minds back to 2008. It was a time full of overgrown emo fringes, MySpace, and rock music was as popular as ever. However, it also was a time of turmoil as the economic crash of 2007-2008 was in full swing. Against this background, Chicago-based band THE ACADEMY IS… released their third album, Fast Times At Barrington High. Named after the 1982 film, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and also after the school vocalist William Beckett and bassist Adam Siska attended, it also proved to be their final album, as they disbanded in 2011.

The band would eventually reunite in 2015 for a few months to celebrate ten years of their debut, Almost Here. But in 2022, they announced they were reuniting in order to play Riot Festival. As this year marks fifteen years since Fast Times At Barrington High was released, we could potentially see them on the road again. But how does the album hold up all these years later?

Opening song About A Girl is a fast-paced, light-hearted song about falling in love. In fact, this entire album successfully captures the highs and lows of adolescence. This can be sen on songs such as Summer Hair = Forever Young, which unfortunately is a bit of a sickly sweet song with too many fluffy lyrics about how “we’re forever young“. Whilst it might’ve been the soundtrack to everyone’s teenage parties back in the day, listening back does make us shake our heads at its youthful optimism.

On the other hand, that’s the appeal of this album. It was released back when the band themselves were in their early twenties. When you’re that age, you can imagine becoming anyone you want; the world is your oyster. Furthermore, there are some songs which are more poignant on this album, The Test and Rumoured Nights for example which both talk about relationships breaking down.

Sonically, this album holds up surprisingly well. Whilst some of the songs fall into cliches, such as a singalong chorus, the pacing of the album works very well, especially as there are songs that lead into each other near the start. Even the later songs are mostly fast-paced, which helps the overall album sound cohesive.

On the other hand, there are some identity issues. A lot of the songs – especially at the start – sound the same. Even throughout the album, there are songs which – if you aren’t paying close attention to – seem to form one long piece. Whilst this creates consistency, it also means the songs don’t get their individual moments to shine as the audience don’t have time to get to know the songs on their own merits.

Thankfully, the latter half of the album carves its own identity. Whether this is the slow, guitar-driven song After The Last Midtown Show, or the mid-tempo Beware! Cougar! This half of the album actually saves the album from turning into a one note wonder. Even when the album returns to the core sound of fast-paced Paper Chase, it doesn’t sound as boring because there has been some variety.

Closing song One More Weekend is another mid-tempo track. However, it sounds fresh because the album has had a variety of paces, especially throughout the second half. Furthermore, it shows the journey that we have been on since the opening track.

The pacing of the overall album is mostly fast. However, thanks to the songs having an average runtime of three and a half minutes, each song gets enough time to make its impact known. Although the first half of the album does sometimes sound similar, this still helps the album in the long run because it keeps things cohesive. However, the album itself does not sound like a goodbye. It sounds like the band have more ideas up their sleeve, which is why it is a shame that they disbanded, because they could have given us a lot more albums.

At the time of its release, it sold 35,000 copies, and it reached Number 17 on Billboard 200. Critical reception was mixed-to-favourable. Rolling Stone gave it 3/5 stars, and listed it as the 46th best album of 2008. Alternative Press also gave it 3/5 stars. However, Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, and AllMusic gave it 4/5 stars.

In retrospect, this album is poignant as it is the band’s last. Whilst they have reunited in the past, neither their 2015 or 2022 reunion have been a significant length of time to record new music. However, a year after Fast Times At Barrington High was released, the band released an EP on iTunes and as a limited run on their website called Lost In Pacific Time: The AP/EP (2009).

Overall, Fast Times At Barrington High is a poignant album from a beloved band from the early 2000s. While it isn’t perfect, it manages to pull itself together. THE ACADEMY IS… craft an album that makes their break-up all the more sad because this album showcases the potential for more music. Furthermore, as the first half is a bit rough due to the fact that it has similar sounding songs, the second half of the album has to pull its weight. Whilst this does make the pacing of the album cohesive, it does also means that the first half can sometimes sound like a bit of a waste of songs, as they do merge into each other. At the time, the album gained mixed to positive reviews, but – looking back – the third – and final – album from THE ACADEMY IS… has a lot of heart.

Fast Times At Barrington High was origianlly realesed on August 19 2008 via Fuelled By Ramen.

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