No one likes an emo band who think too hard. The Academy Is… got schooled on this lesson after Santi, their experimental and brooding second release and fell off the teeny-bop radar. Fast Times at Barrington High is a humble return to the music they were put on this earth to write: three-minute, four-chord pop-rock confectionery. Sunny, sentimental tunes like “About a Girl” and “Summer Hair = Forever Young” make for superb Hills closing-credits material. Sure, it’s silly for twentysomethings to write corny songs about being 17, but these guys are seasoned merchants of bubblegum and besides, they’re, like, good at it.

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