Over the past year, The Academy Is… has sold over 100k of their Fueled By Ramen debut, Almost Here, have toured with the likes of Fall Out Boy and Midtown, have headlined their own nationwide tour, and have been embraced by TRL and 15 year old girls everywhere. They have boarded the “buzz” train and are on their way to a major label deal, so to keep the buzz pulsating and to satisfy fans (old and new alike), they have released a 6 track EP titled From The Carpet, exclusive only to iTunes. Now while I strongly disagree with this “digital only” crap, The Academy Is… (vocalist Will Beckett, guitarists Mike Carden and Tom Conrad, bassist Adam Siska, and drummer Andy Mrotek) do not disappoint with this EP. With 2 new acoustic songs, one John Lennon cover, and 3 new versions of favorites from the debut, this EP is definitely a must-have for all TAI fans.

Everyone knows that I have been a huge Bill Beckett (lead singer / ex-Remember Maine) fan for years. We also all know that I am a sucker for clever lyrics, fast-paced beats, and catchy choruses, right? So, is it that hard to assume that I am going to be in love with the amalgam of the two? You are going to get exactly that — pure-unadulterated-love.

I will start out my forthcoming review by saying: if you are only judging this band by their first EP, throw out your preconceptions and don’t assume you know a fucking thing about this band. The album is an intelligent mix of pop, folk, and rock – all mixed together with the soothing vocals and lyrical styling of one of the most talented front-men in the scene. The hype has been bleeding from this band since the moment they were conceived (yah, I know I didn’t help much with that one), and I was always afraid that when the band finally released an album they would never be able to live up to the expectations of others (and of those I put upon them). After pushing play for the first time on this disc, I knew that I had underestimated the band from the get go – they were not only deserving of all the hype – they proceeded to construct an album that is a huge middle finger to all the critics. They took the stereotypes that their first EP had brought from critics, turned them on their head, and created an album full of uniqueness and originality that can only be seen as a testament to commitment.