‘The Words You Don’t Swallow’ is the kind of record The Academy Is… have tried to write ever since ‘Almost Here’ blew them up big. It’s a fun pop-punk album dripping with the arrogance of youth, a record with such a massive swagger in its step it’s impossible not to sing a long. This record has hits in abundance – ‘Mr Big Shot’, ‘Gypsy Woman’ and ‘Contagious’ are all massive, massive songs with hooks big enough to land a whale. The first half of this record is almost faultless as every song hits the spot.
The second half of this Mike Green produced opus isn’t quite as strong and ends with the cliche ridden ‘Useless’, but don’t let that put you off. There are seven or eight absolute killer pop-punk songs here. ‘Let The Games Begin’ is the kind of song you think you’ve heard before – and let’s face it, bands like Anarbor are ten-a-penny – but give this a few plays and it will burrow inside your brain and slowly start to take over your sub-conscience. Slade Echeverria’s very smooth, melodic vocal is the band’s secret weapon as he sings with a confidence and a passion many pop-punk bands could do well to adopt.
‘The Whole World’ and ‘Drugstore Diet’ are two other tracks I recommend you give a listen. This album is one of those that just sneaks up on you when you least expect it – it’s certainly going to be a sleeper hit of the summer…