by Stewart MasonA youthful pop emo quintet from the New York City suburb of Bergenfield, New Jersey, the Finals formed out of the teenage friendships of its five members. Bassist Matt Reilly, guitarists Jason Sazer (who shares lead vocal duties with Reilly) and Lou Bottone, keyboardist Christian Kisala, and drummer Joshua Sazer were in the usual series of teenage bands before putting together the Finals under the influence of Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, and similar bands. Kisala, originally the band's drummer, adds a certain '80s post-punk vibe to the otherwise straightforward indie guitar pop tunes through his New Order-influenced keyboard style. The band released their debut EP, Long Story Short (overseen by My Chemical Romance producer John Naclerio) on the tiny indie Stab Me Records in the summer of 2004. The record got enough buzz that the Finals signed to Immortal Records, a Los Angeles-based emo and nu-metal label distributed by Epic, in 2005 and recorded their debut album with the production help of Midtown singer and guitarist Heath Saraceno, an old friend from Bergenfield. That first full-length, Plan Your Getaway, was released in the summer of 2006.