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 In the past, there have been two things that
have annoyed your reviewer about Fall Out Boy, one being that vocalist
Patrick Stump produced the most unclear vocals ever committed to record,
and the other that bassist Pete Wentz is generally the most irritating
bloke on the planet.
Whilst little can be done to change Petey Boy’s irritating ways, it does
seem that Stump is at least trying to make himself understood now, as he
leads his band of emo-rock idols through their latest album, Infinity On
High, an album much better than expected but still not without its
flaws.
After rapper Jay-Z introduces the record with a dedication to ‘anybody
people said would never make it’, Infinity On High gets off to a slow,
slightly disappointing start, paddling along a river of mediocrity with
the dreary ‘Thriller’.
No, this isn’t some rock cover of a Michael Jackson tune ala Alien Ant
Farm (remember them?), but rather a plodding little track that is saved
from being truly naff by a nice melody and the obligatory anthemic
chorus.
Things get a little better with ‘The Take Off, The Breaks Off’ which
kicks off with some Franz Ferdinand like stabbing guitar before romping
headfirst into some Franz Ferdinand like verses and generally sounding
like how we imagine Franz Ferdinand would sound if they ever turned
their hand to emo.
Yet it’s with recent single ‘This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race’ that
Infinity On High really starts to impress.
Sure emo has its critics, and occasionally that includes yours truly,
but this writer is hereby issuing a challenge to anyone claiming not to
like this song to step up and explain themselves.
‘This Ain’t A Scene…’ which stands out as one of the few true highlights
of this album is great in almost every conceivable way. Catchy,
energetic and a sure dancefloor-filler, it’s almost the perfect pop
song.
As is ‘I’m Like A Lawyer With The Ways I’m Always Trying To Get You Off
[me & you]’, which despite its annoyingly long title is a lovely piece
of pop-rock. That’s right, lovely. Not a word used to describe
grandiose, guitar-laden anthems often, but one that is certainly fitting
here.
Fall Out Boy opt for a change of scenery with the likes of ‘Golden’, a
piano ‘n’ vocals ballad that allows you to catch a breather but
ultimately is a bit bland.
Which is the main problem with this album. Whilst there’s a lot of good
here, including personal favourite ‘Bang The Doldrums’ with its
‘Oh-Woah-Oh’ chorus and some great riffs, there’s also a lot of really
boring material here that fails to achieve anything.
Take ‘The (After) Life Of The Party’ for example. Long, drawn out and
not very exciting, there’s very little to enjoy about this song.
Luckily though, there’s more good than bad here, and whilst Infinity On
High doesn’t have the same bouncy, upbeat tunes that made up the bulk of
their last release ‘From Under The Cork Tree’, it does show a maturity
and experience befitting arguably one of the biggest bands in the world
at the moment, and is the sound of a band trying to escape the
constraints of the emo scene and affirm their own identity.
Over all, a good effort, and though we still can’t understand every word
Stumpy sings, this a lot clearer and a lot tighter than anything we’ve
heard from Fall Out Boy in the past.
Recommended Links:
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www.falloutboyrock.com
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www.myspace.com/falloutboy
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