Emerging from Bergenfield, New Jersey—a suburban enclave just outside New York City—a five-piece pop-emo outfit called the Finals coalesced through longstanding teenage bonds among its core members. Bassist Matt Reilly, guitarists Jason Sazer, who alternates lead vocals with Reilly, and Lou Bottone, keyboardist Christian Kisala, and drummer Joshua Sazer had previously cycled through the usual adolescent groups before coalescing as the Finals, shaped by the sounds of Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, and comparable acts. Kisala, who initially handled drumming duties, layers an ’80s post-punk atmosphere onto the band’s direct indie guitar-pop songs via keyboards modeled on New Order. In summer 2004 the group issued its first EP, Long Story Short, produced by My Chemical Romance’s John Naclerio and released on the small Stab Me Records imprint. The EP generated sufficient attention for the Finals to secure a deal in 2005 with Immortal Records, the Los Angeles emo and nu-metal label distributed by Epic; the band then cut its debut album with assistance from Midtown singer-guitarist Heath Saraceno, a Bergenfield acquaintance. That full-length effort, Plan Your Getaway, arrived in summer 2006.
