The Academic releases new EP, “Community Spirit”

In the last year, many 20 Somethings have found themselves back in their childhood bedrooms due to the pandemic. While this dramatic shift of lifestyle may not have been ideal for many, Irish band The Academic took advantage of the situation by producing their new EP, Community Spirit which was released on July 16th, 2021. 

The Academic is composed of four members: Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin, and brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh. The EP’s lead single “Kids (Don’t End Up Like Me)” is a song written by the lead singer, Craig Fitzgerald, when he was a teenager in the early 2000s. The song opens up with the line: “Call up my dad ’cause I’m a failure” and follows with themes of disappointment and defeat throughout. Even though  Fitzgerald is a successful artist, the immersion into the same setting of when he wrote the song brings up feelings of nostalgic melancholy once more. Now at age 29, the singer retains a similar outlook on the lyrical content because the sentiments of the song are the same. The song still touches on the innate fear of being a failure: something we can all still go through no matter how old, or how accomplished we are.

These feelings of reminiscing, melancholy and family are the catalysts for the title Community Spirit. It’s an EP that is straight to the point and “back to the basics” where The Academic first began. Fitzgerald says that was the essence of the EP: “the feeling of being home again.” 

The band had to once again rely on their local resources even though they had all just been touring for the last few years. This is in stark juxtaposition to going from performing with notable bands like The Rolling Stones, The Strokes, and The Kooks, to once again writing and recording songs in their childhood living rooms. 

Fitzgerald even found himself producing for the first time and used his Macbook for the entire process. Without the glamour of recording studios, producers, PR, concerts, or the entire “rock star” lifestyle, the band was able to strengthen their core roots — as friends who formed a band. Two of the band members, Matthew and Stephen Murtgagh, are actually brothers who live a mere five minutes away from Fitzgerald in midland Ireland. 

Despite the challenges the band faced, it was endearing for all of them to gather and write music again like they did when they were teenagers. What felt like an Earth-shattering setback turned into a revelatory EP. Community Spirit is an EP that aims to have every listener find a piece of themselves within. The drummer, Matthew Murtgagh, cited the paramount effect his cultural identity has on the content of the band’s music by saying, “Ireland is a nation of storytellers.” This sentiment can easily be ascertained by a close listen to the lyrical content of Community Spirit because it’s reflective, beckoning its listeners to reckon with their inner angst. 

The band is excited to begin touring again, especially in the UK because the “UK crowds are crazy.” They do not yet know when they will tour the United States, but they hope they can soon. 

Article by Jax Samsell