The Academic - Tales from the Backseat (Album Review)

The Academic are an indie rock band formed in 2013 in Westmeath, Ireland. They're a young quartet who've left their mark on the indie scene in the past couple of years, gaining the most attention from their 2017 single "Bear Claws" and its clever music video. They've been especially successful in Ireland as their debut album "Tales from the Backseat" took the number one spot on the 19th of January. Let's take a look at their album and determine if it has the quality of a debut indie rock album that bands like The Sherlocks, Two Door Cinema Club and The Strokes had...

Firstly there's the fact that many of these songs were wrote years before the album was released and the lead single "Different" definitely shows that. Whilst being incredibly catchy and including a memorable hook, the lyrics are definitely too simple. The excessive use of 'a-ha' throughout the song does get annoying but it's forgiven because the song's synth line and guitar melodies are great, along with the outro to the song.

Opening track "Permanent Vacation" is an instantly catchy sing-along with some lovely drums and a summer vibe aided by the synths. Lyrically it could be described as forward thinking and clever for the band, in any case it shows off how talented The Academic are are writing simple but brilliant songs.

The single "Bear Claws" will hopefully go down as an indie-rock masterpiece with its super catchy chorus and good vocal performance from Craig Fitzgerald, the band's enthusiast singer and guitarist. The builds on this song are really great but short which would make it great for the radio. In fact, it feels as though it should be a hit single but it's yet to cross over to the mainstream. The best moment of the song has to be the fantastic instrumental which showcases their guitar skills.

"I Feel It Too", "Bite My Tongue" and "Fake ID" are in the middle of the tracklist and they're all equally catchy and all decent songs (besides "Bite My Tongue" which is just lacking in all departments really) but they can be described as a bit bland and typical indie-rock, without much standout presence within the album. "Fake ID" is a really catchy song and it's gained some attention, I believe it's a fan favourite, although I have to say it suffers from everything that "Different" does but it lacks the great production which in my opinion makes it a bit of a misfire. I can imagine that in a live setting it'd be a highlight of an Academic concert but the studio version just hasn't got the quality that some of the other songs on this album have.

"Northern Boy" is in some ways the closest to a ballad we get on Tales From The Backseat and it's definitely slower and darker instrumentally with a good solid chorus and an explosive post-chorus which fits in with pop trends nicely if it's ever deemed a single. Every chorus on seems to top its predecessor even if the lyrics stay the same; the verses shine lyrically as they are both clever and meaningful whilst remaining catchy in typical Academic fashion. Weirdly the bridge is the weakest part of this song which is definitely not something that can be said for any of the other songs on this album. The final highlight of this song I'd like to point out is the third verse, it is gripping and rather interesting.

Following the incredible "Northern Boy" is the almost surreal "Television", a fantastic track instrumentally and lyrically with its just amazing chorus and melody. I adore the fuzzy bass synth and the weird intro, the epic choruses and basically all else about this song. This needs to be the single that makes this band big so if The Academic could make it a single that'd be great!

The final single on the album is arguably the best song on the album, the conscious and immersive "Why Can't We Be Friends?" with its haunting lyrics, really great pre-chorus and slower, more melodic instrumentation. Perhaps it's structure is formulaic but it works with the grounded vibe and organised feel which is only enhanced by Craig's vocals, beautifully conveying the pain of the experience he sings about.

The only song left to mention is "Girlfriends", the mediocre and all too conventional ballad with its all too poppy acoustic guitars and all too cringey lyrics. The chorus is underwhelming and boring, the concept imaginative but so unfortunately performed. I hope that The Academic move past this sort of song on future releases and instead go down a more thoughtful and better instrumented path.

I like this album lots and it does sound great in the car (yes even on the 'Backseat') but for The Academic to stand out more in their indie-rock vein they need to play it less safe and deepen their lyrics. I mostly love the synths and guitars even if they're nothing new, I'm giving this album an 8 out of 10. It's not as good as fellow Irish indie-rockers Two Door Cinema Club and their debut but I can see them going places as a band even if they are confined to indie fans alone.

The songs rated worst to best (10 to 1):
10. Girlfriends
9. Bite My Tongue
8. Fake ID
7. I Feel It Too
6. Different
5. Northern Boy
4. Permanent Vacation
3. Bear Claws
2. Television
1. Why Can't We Be Friends?