The Almost

The Almost started in Clearwater, Florida, in 2005, when Aaron Gillespie, drummer and clean vocalist for Underoath, opened a page online for a solo project while recording Underoath's Define the Great Line. He posted early demos and worked with the Starting Line's Kenny Vasoli on a holiday track for a Tooth & Nail compilation before pulling together a touring band and stepping up front as singer and guitarist.

The music trades post-hardcore intensity for a rougher, more straightforward rock approach, with Southern rock and gospel inflections and lyrics shaped by Gillespie's faith.

Southern Weather, recorded in early 2006 with Gillespie playing nearly every instrument himself, came out through Tooth & Nail in April 2007. It reached number 39 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Christian albums chart. The touring band at the time included guitarists Dusty Redmon and Jay Vilardi, bassist Alex Aponte and drummer Kenny Bozich.

Monster Monster followed in 2009 and Fear Inside Our Bones in 2013, both also on Tooth & Nail, before the band went on hiatus in 2015. Gillespie revived the project for a fourth album, Fear Caller, released on Fearless Records in 2019, with a lineup rounded out by Vilardi, bassist Jon Thompson and drummer JJ Revell. The project has continued to run alongside Gillespie's work with Underoath and his solo releases.