Chicago quintet The Academy Is… are set to release Santi (out April 3 on Fueled By Ramen), the follow-up to 2005 debut Almost Here, and they recruited Butch Walker (All-American Rejects, Hot Hot Heat) to man the knobs. Frontman William Beckett gave us a sneak peek into their recording sessions (read more), and now his band is giving fans their first look at what those sessions produced. In “We’ve Got a Big Mess On Our Hands,” Becektt becomes his own worst enemy (“I always put myself in destructive situations / I need oxygen to be exposed where no one goes,” he sings) before chewing on a chorus of ay-ay-ay-ay-ays — it’s an upbeat declaration of self-destruction replete with stadium-sized riffs.

Now Hear This:
The Academy Is… – “We’ve Got a Big Mess On Our Hands” WINDOWS MEDIA | REAL

Talk: Would you get messy with the Academy Is…? COMMENT

On SPIN.com:
Artist of the Day: The Academy Is…
In the Studio: The Academy Is…
Fall Out Boy to Headline Honda Civic Tour

On the Web:
theacademyis.com

>> Listen to the Academy Is… on Napster

Subscribe to Spin

YES! I want to try 2 issues of SPIN RISK-FREE!