Santi

You might remember this band from our “Most Anticipated of 2006” issue, which had you watching like a hawk for their album to drop. Apparently, they thought it would be funny to make us look bad by waiting until 2007 to actually release the damned thing. Okay, we’ve got egg on our faces. Let’s just start the review and see who laughs last. Santi-what kind of title is that? And what’s with the Butch Walker production? Who are you, Hot Hot Heat? And, while we’re at it, get a load of the catchy guitar riffs, slick harmonies and arena-sized drumming from Andy “the Butcher” Mrotek. Trouble is, it all works, and we’ve got nothing mean to say about the Academy boys-except maybe about the release date. Vocalist William Beckett delivers a cascading falsetto like Ted Leo in a production of Grease, while behind him, the band dole out melodic rock simultaneously calling to mind Fall Out Boy and Franz Ferdinand. It’s a shame this record is so good because we were really hoping to reference Beckett’s contribution to the Snakes On A Plane soundtrack and make some witty “this bites” remarks. 

Fueled By Ramen www.fueledbyramen.com