For all the pop punk and emo fans of the early 2000s, The Academy Is... might be more than a distant memory (or just a guaranteed spot on the When We Were Young festival). Before the indefinite hiatus in 2011, the alt rock band penned the records Santi (2007), Fast Times at Barrington High (2008), and their debut Almost Here, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Now, the quartet return with a brand new record, Almost There, set for release on March 27 via I Surrender Records.

To celebrate their reunion, The Academy Is... also shared their lead single, "2005". Watch/listen to it below:

"Almost Here was the beginning. Almost There is the reflection,” says front man William Beckett about the new record and its pensive, nostalgic leading track. “It’s about checking in with who you thought you’d be twenty years later, seeing what changed, what stuck, and what still feels like home.”

Almost There still promises to stick to its pop punk roots, serving as a conceptual sequel to the 2005 debut, but it aims to answer the questions about achieving fame, success, and finding one's voice from an older, more mature point of view. "William and I made the first record at nineteen and walked away at twenty-eight,” guitarist Mike Carden says, per a press release. “Almost There is really about everything that’s happened in the space between.” He adds, "We want to write from where we actually are now. Our audience is growing with us. They’re dealing with the same real-life changes, the same celebrations, the same setbacks."

The band wrote and recorded Almost There after appearing at the 2023 When We Were Young tour, the first time they played together since 2015's brief reunion at Riot Fest.

The new album announcement comes after The Academy Is... went on a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Almost Here last year. They recently added a second leg in 2026, revealing new dates for cities across North America. Tickets are available now.

Almost There is out March 27 via I Surrender Records. Pre-order here. Official tracklist:

1. Up In The Air
2. Miracle
3. 2005
4. Freak Out
5. Snow Days
6. 100mph
7. Floating Through Time (interlude)
8. L Train
9. Lost Signals
10. Lulu Boy
11. Ten Years

Tour dates:

04/10 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
04/11 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
04/15 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
04/16 Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
04/18 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
04/19 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
04/24 Austin, TX @ Emo's
04/25 Dallas, TX @ The Echo
04/26 Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
05/01 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
05/02 Seattle, WA @ Showbox at The Market
05/07 Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
05/08 Berkley, CA @ The UC Theatre
05/09 San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park

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