Westmeath band The Academic have shot to No.1 with their second album Sitting Pretty, released last Friday through EMI Records/Capitol Records.

The indie-pop maestros continue their incredible ascent, which has included mad Transatlantic dashes, a run of classic singles, and much-discussed Stones support slots.

"It feels like a natural progression without losing sight of what makes us... us," they told Pat Carty in the new issue of Hot Press. Their latest LP was built in London, recorded alongside producer Nick Hodgson at Snap Studios in London. Building outwards, the record is a real coming-of-age narrative, switching between youthful confidence and anxiety.

According to Pat Carty's verdict, "You can hear influences as varied as The Kinks (‘Buying Smokes’) and Vampire Weekend (‘This Is Your Life’) and the arrangements are inventive and free-wheeling but it's the song writing that's their greatest strength."

The Acacemic. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

With their self-released debut album, Tales From The Backseat, The Academic announced themselves with an unlikely bang. Buoyant guitar hooks and earworm melodies coalesced with Craig Fitzgerald’s lyrics about teenage romance and tribulations in rural Ireland to place the band firmly amongst many ones-to-watch lists.

Released in 2018, it hit number one in the Irish Albums Chart but had enough of a global reach that over the next few years, the band toured the UK, Europe and all across North America.

“We wanted to play the fastest, have the biggest chorus,” explains Craig of the first era of The Academic, which saw the band driven by a competitive edge.

Sitting Pretty has “a more matured edge to it,” bassist Stephen Murtagh promises. “We're different people now but that's natural. You grow out of things.” Leaning into that, Stephen explains how the songs on Sitting Pretty are “reflections of where we are now and who we’ve become. We’re in our mid-20s and experiencing all the chaos that comes with that. No one really knows what they’re doing or where they’re going, but nobody is panicking because we’re all in it together.”

The band hoped Sitting Pretty “connects on a visceral level with people who are grappling with their sense of self-worth, their identity and not knowing where they belong in the world. It is a struggle to know where you fit or what’s around the corner and it feels like that’s only getting harder,” explains Stephen. “I think a good chunk of young people feel lost or confused. Hopefully there’s comfort to be found in knowing other people feel the same way.”

Clearly, their fans deeply connected with the album. As of today, their dedication to send Sitting Pretty to the top of the Irish charts has borne fruit.

Elsewhere on the Irish Albums Charts, Paramore's This Is Why lands at No.3, Taylor Swift's Midnights drops to No.3, Harry's House from Harry Styles is at No.4 and The Weeknd's Highlights rests at No.5. Miley Cyrus has retained her No.1 run with break-up banger 'Flowers', with Raye's 'Escapism' still at No.2.