Backstage Pass

While The Academy Is... and a few journalists listened to "About a Girl" from the band's still-untitled forthcoming album, singer William Beckett raised his hands over his head during the future hit's impossibly catchy chorus, a sign that he's already thinking about performing the song for big, big crowds.

It's a good plan, since the handful of songs I heard last week at Fresh Kills studio in Greenwich Village shows the band embracing its poppier side and looking to make another quantum leap in their careers. "About a Girl" is a smash in the making, a straight-up power-pop gem with loud guitars and clever lyrical twists. Another song, possibly called "His Friday Girl," is nearly as infectious.

Beckett says the new album, currently slated for an Aug. 19 release on Fueled by Ramen, is "a celebration of youth" and filled with songs about enjoying life. The band plans to unveil a couple of new songs during its sets on the Warped Tour, which stops at the Nassau Coliseum parking lot on July 26. Hopefully, including "About a Girl."

They may even have a title for the album by then, which Beckett says is important "for a band whose last album was called 'Santi.'" Producer Sam Hollander joked that since the bulk of the album was recorded at the Manhattan studio where Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" and Madonna's "Like a Virgin" was done, they try "Born a Virgin," which struck a chord with the band, though maybe not as a title. It's probably more likely than "Santi II," though.