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No, not the movie, the band. But if you were thinking of the 1989 John Cusak flick of the same name, then you’re right…kind of. Front man Max Bemis, did indeed name his band after the movie because he felt he could relate to the main character, one Lloyd Dobler. Really, once you’ve given Say Anything a spin, that isn’t at all suprising.

The Californian band began in 2001, when the name was actually one run on word. They released two EPs (one as an online release only) and one LP, Baseball. In 2004, their official debut …is a real boy was released on Ohio based Doghouse Records amid the involvement of a slew of big names such as punk producer Tim O’Heir (All American Rejects, Dinosaur Jr) and  Stephen Trask (author, Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Some time after the album’s release, a 8 song demo was leaked on the internet but distribution was quickly contained. Seven of these tracks were later released as …was a real boy, an extra disc that accompanied the later prints of the original album after the band signed with J Records, an offshoot of BMG Entertainment.  There were significant delays with the release of the album, four months in fact, but leaks meant copies of the album were soon selling for substantial amounts online. The band are reportedly planning a recording a double album next, tenatively titled …In Defense of the Genre, with producer Brad Wood (Sunny Day Real Estate, The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters).

Front man Max Bemis is something of an eccentric in certain things, like not allowing the band’s first EPs to be repressed because he doesn’t think they’re good enough. He’s just a little neurotic, a little obsessive, brutally honest and a perfectionist. He’s also slightly troubled, having suffered a nervous breakdown during the recording of …is a real boy before commiting himself to a mental institution only to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder shortly thereafter. The album was only completed after all this. But what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger and all Max’s flaws and characteristics have definitely made Say Anything one hell of a band. A fact not lost on other artists, My Chemical Romance included ‘Alive with the glory of love’ on a magazine compilation of their favourite tracks while Dashboard Confessional front man Chris Carrabba covered ‘Wow, I can get sexual too’ at some live shows.

If you do nothing else today, just check them out – songs such as the already mentioned Wow, I can get sexual too, and Alive with the glory of love, as well as the stinging Admit it!!! make Say Anything one of the most promising bands around.