The Academy Is… Capture Chicago After Dark On "L Train"

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Photo Credit: Jonathan Weber

As the city hums past midnight, Chicago’s own The Academy Is… bottle that restless energy, turning late-night transit into a loop of memory and motion. L Train serves as the final preview of their long-awaited album Almost There, arriving March 27 via I Surrender Records. The track captures the strange feeling of being surrounded yet completely alone. Built on rhythmic drive and airy instrumentation, the band channels both the thrill and disorientation of revisiting the past in real time. It’s a snapshot of nights where thoughts move faster than the train itself. The band describes it as:

'L Train' is a song about those nights where you’re stuck in your own head; alone in a crowded room, surrounded by social ghosts. The song is dreamy, but there’s a haunting, nervous energy running through it. It’s our lens into a midwest mind trip where you’re replaying memories over and over…

Rather than resolving those feelings, the track lets them linger, looping like the late-night rides that inspired it. The release leads into "Almost There," the band’s first studio album in over 18 years and a reflection on distance, identity, and time. Following earlier singles like 2005 and Miracle, the project reconnects the band with the urgency that defined their early years while embracing a more measured perspective. As they continue their Almost Here 20th Anniversary Tour and prepare for appearances at Warped Tour 2026, follow The Academy Is… on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, and TIKTOK. Let us know your thoughts on "L Train" below.

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