SmartReMarxcom

There’s nothing wrong with the new album released by The Academy Is…  Fast Times at Barrington High has a pure college rock sound, some decent melodies and a few catchy hooks scattered here and there.   It’s a perfectly serviceable album.

The problem though is that aside from a few tracks, nothing really standouts. Rumored Nights is a good track but it sounds an awful lot like everything else on the radio these days (Metro Station, Rogue Wave, We the Kings - take your pick).  That makes a track like Crowded Room an interesting diversion, even though the song is virtually unlistenable.

The best of the Fast Times comes at the beginning before the sound starts to blend the tracks in with one another.  About a Girl and Summer Hair = Forever Young are both stellar (and not surprisingly, released as singles ahead of the full release). But too soon, the album starts to take on this unwaveringly monotonous feel. I didn’t hate the album but by the time I got to the last handful of tracks, like Paper Chase, I felt like I was just listening to the same track on repeat.

Click on the stars above to rate this article