The Academic

The Academic are an indie rock band from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, formed in the early 2010s while its members were still teenagers. The lineup consists of Craig Fitzgerald on vocals and guitar, Dean Gavin on drums, and brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh on guitar and bass. Their sound blends jangly guitar hooks, upbeat pop-rock energy and youthful, hook-driven songwriting reminiscent of acts like Two Door Cinema Club and The 1975.

The band built a reputation through relentless touring and short, high-energy live sets, earning festival slots across Europe and support tours with acts such as Twenty One Pilots and Catfish and the Bottlemen. Their breakthrough single «Northern Lights» and songs like «Why Can’t We Be Friends?» and «Bear Claws» brought them wider recognition, and their 2018 debut album «Tales from the Backseat» was nominated for Ireland’s Choice Music Prize.

Since then The Academic have continued releasing melodic, guitar-forward pop-rock, expanding their sound on later releases like «Community Spirit» while retaining the immediacy and energy that defined their early singles. They remain one of the more prominent Irish indie rock exports of their generation.