Fall Out Boy Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Who knew that Sgt. Pepper's was once again the in record for now hipsters? First, Panic at the Disco dropped the exclamation mark and donned trippy marching uniforms for the psychedelic pastiche Pretty, Odd, now Fall Out Boy follow with Folie à Deux, a record that doesn't attempt to re-create the sound but the spirit of 1967, when rock bands would try anything on their LPs, especially if it included lots of orchestration. Strings are only one of the accoutrements on Folie à Deux. Fall Out Boy pile everything onto their fifth album: cameos from superstars and running mates, so many that Lil Wayne and Debbie Harry are barely heard; thundering arena rock rhythms and ultra-slick hair metal riffs; hints of soul and R&B; synths lifted from new wave singles and retro hits alike. If only it were done with a modicum of care, it might seem like a crazy postmodern hall of mirrors, but Fall Out Boy are too artless to be postmodern. They're hyper modern, flitting through the past and present, taking nothing seriously and taking everything they can, cramming so many allusions into their overstuffed songs it's impossible to tell what is intentional and what is accidental. (Are those crashing chords on "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" really taken from "Baba O'Reilly"? Do they realize "I don't care what you think/Just as long as it's about me" is from Nirvana's "Drain You"? Does it matter?) Uncertainty about FOB's intentions is a problem intensified by how lyricist and de facto leader Pete Wentz writes every line with a smirk (it's a wonder he's yet to title a song with an emoticon) and how singer Patrick Stump treats every lyric as if it's sacrosanct, never acknowledging that there just might be a pun there. Stump's one quirk is an unhealthy obsession with Elvis Costello, borrowing so many of Costello's overheated mannerisms that when the man himself appears for a show-stopping cameo on "What a Catch, Donnie," it takes a moment to register that he's really in the studio singing on an overblown song that also features members of Gym Class Heroes and the Academy Is..., and even contains a passing Beatles allusion when somebody sings "Sugar, We're Going Down" on the close out, just like how John sang "She Loves You" at the end of "All You Need Is Love." Whether intentional or not, there's a certain glee to FOB's pop absurdity because their cheerfully careless genre-bending has no reverence: fitting all these sounds and jokes into a pop song is all a game and it's one listeners can share, whether they're playing spot-the-allusion or just succumbing to the sugary hooks clustered within one track. It would be more fun if these hooks were polished into something resembling a constructed pop song -- FOB's melodic phrases don't necessarily lead to the next -- and if the production weren't so brittle and digital. When there's as much going on in a mix as there is here, there needs to be room to breathe and there is none on Folie à Deux, with every little detail louder than the next. It also might help if Stump for once would realize that he is singing the words of an unrepentant goofball who gave his newborn son a name whose initials are BMW -- everybody else in the band and audience is having some fun, why not Stump? -- but that disconnect is yet another way that Fall Out Boy capture the Zeitgeist of the latter half of the 2000s better than any band: there's so much going on in Folie à Deux, you either choose to take it all seriously or take none of it. Fall Out Boy make as much sense when heard either way. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Say what you will of their flat-ironed haircuts, wordy song titles, and relationships with exasperating Hollywood starlets, but the boys in Fall Out Boy put on a fairly tight show. Still, is that enough to save Live in Phoenix from being dragged underwater by its own weight? Recorded during the Infinity on High tour, this CD/DVD package features both sides of the band: the talented emo-rock outfit headed by vocalist Patrick Stump (displayed on the audio disc), and the flashy, image-conscious group with Pete Wentz at the center (as evidenced by the DVD). The video portion is enjoyable enough, particularly if you're a dedicated fan, as the pyrotechnics and confetti cannons add a bit of spectacle to the band's performance. At the same time, it's all too easy to overlook Patrick Stump's presence when you're given those visuals, and his contributions are the real meat of Fall Out Boy's sound. Wentz may be the most famous bandmember (even if his agenda seems to center on three things here: screaming into the microphone, introducing songs with unintentionally hilarious speeches, and wearing a fashionable hoodie during the height of summer in an Arizona nightclub), but Stump proves his worth as one of the most competent emo vocalists around, nailing the high notes in "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and plowing his way through series after series of tongue-twisting melodies. He deserves more recognition, and the fact that Pete Wentz so easily hijacks the spotlight shows why many critics dismiss this band. Then again, perhaps the CD's messy cover of "Beat It" is to blame. John Mayer makes a brief appearance on the song's guitar solo, but his presence only heightens the realization that we're listening to Fall Out Boy and John Mayer, not the celebrated partnership of Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen. When the bandmates stick to their talents, Live in Phoenix shows them to be competent musicians who've been irrationally slandered by those outside the emo circle. But when Fall Out Boy overstep their boundaries, this album threatens to capsize, regardless of the strength of the performances. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
'Infinity on High'
Release Date 2/5/2007
Tracks 14
Label Universal/Mercury
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
A funny thing happened to Fall Out Boy on the road to Infinity on High: they got famous. Before 2005's From Under the Cork Tree they were just another pop-punk unit from suburban Chicago happy to break even at shows with gas money. Next thing anyone knew, they were headlining arenas and being heralded as the new face of pop-punk alongside their peers in My Chemical Romance. It was a position that never seemed to rest easy with the guys, and because of this, Infinity on High seems a bit conflicted. Fall Out Boy wants to charm everyone here. They want to prove themselves to critics by moving past the confines of emo, allowing a love of all things pop to come right to the forefront. Yet they also want to resonate directly with those day-one fans who may long for the intimate VFW shows of yesterday. This disparity makes points of the record seem awkward, and for the first time, the band appears to over-think things. Pete Wentz's lyrics are oftentimes resentful, full of fame-induced angst, and really emphasize his need to drive home his position that stardom has not changed the band. So it's in weird contrast to these sentiments that Jay-Z is the one opening the album and calling out haters who said FOB would fail. The glorification of their celebrity abruptly switches into Patrick Stump stating (pleading?) that the band is not buying into the hype -- nor do they even want it. "Make us poster boys for your scene/But we are not making an acceptance speech" is defiant, and when his sweet voice asserts, "Crowds are won and lost and won again/But our hearts beat for the diehards," it's clear that FOB still holds their roots close. But this is contradicted by the fact that the album's majority is far and away their poppiest material to date, more pop/rock than pop-punk, which inevitably means more interesting to those who know them just as that "Dance, Dance" band with the media-whoring bassist, Pete Wentz. So the results are hit-and-miss. The Maroon 5-ish "I'm Like a Lawyer..." is glaringly one of the Babyface-produced tracks, and with a vocal hook uncomfortably close to Phil Collins' cover of "Groovy Kind of Love," it plays like the guys were the ruffled house band for a prom. It's ill-fitting, a notion that continues in cuts like the soft rock piano of "Golden" and the airy "The (After) Life of the Party." But on the flip side, the fizzy urban-pop nugget "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" dances around double-time hardcore choruses and backing choral singers with dizzying precision and infectious results, while dramatic gospel flair excellently lines "Hum Hallelujah." Stump's vocal control and agility is incredible; he truly brings songs alive in a way uniquely his own, and it's a toss-up as to whether he or drummer Andrew Hurley should get this record's gold star. So it's not to say the pop explosion that is Infinity on High is all bad. Even the studio extravagances -- multiple producers (Babyface and Butch Walker handle a few outside Neil Avron) and decadent layers of horns, string sections, and choirs -- don't detract from its overall enjoyability. Yet unlike My Chemical Romance, who knew exactly what they wanted in the grand theatrics of 2006's Welcome to the Black Parade and completely went for it without apology, Fall Out Boy is at odds. Previously, they could easily skip around with pop baggage, hardcore tension, cunning wordplay, and infectious melodies without losing their edge. Now they just seem too self-aware. Don't misunderstand: once Infinity on High sinks in, it's indeed a fun record. But for a band that was once so self-assured and able to utilize its talents so compellingly, the album is regrettably haphazard. Fall Out Boy may hate people who "dissect us 'til this doesn't mean a thing anymore," but in trying to appeal to all of them, they lost something unique along the way. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
'From Under the Cork Tree'
Release Date 5/3/2005
Tracks 13
Label Island
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Fall Out Boy's 2003 LP stacked sarcasm, wronged romance, and hardcore-derived passion on the head of a punk-pop pin. Take This to Your Grave was urgent at every turn, and though it fit the conventions of its genre, it was bolder and more memorable than the average release on Kung Fu or Drive-Thru. The kids responded -- Fall Out Boy were fast favorites of the online social networks (MySpace, etc.), and an endless tour schedule solidified their rep. With 2005's From Under the Cork Tree, the band fully delivers on their first full-length's promise. Sure, it nods a little more to the standard dynamics and production tweaks of pop-punk and emo in the mid-2000s -- Cork Tree was produced by Neal Avron, who's worked with A New Found Glory. But in many more ways it's the same album as Grave, a youth-intense blast of pop culture reference, pop-punk hyperactivity, and the feeling that we'll never understand life until Patrick Stump or Pete Wentz tells us about it. And we believe them. Stump is Fall Out Boy's vocalist and guitarist, Wentz its bassist and lyricist. Wentz' verbiage can be lengthy -- "I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me," one title goes -- but he has an innate ability to simultaneously acknowledge and deconstruct the mushy emo soliloquy. Temper that with a road-hardened cynicism about band life, superficial love, and the adventure of signing a record contract, and you have lyrics with a point beyond simply acting up or getting sentimental. "Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for my Sham Friends" is blunt. "Yeah we're friends," Stump says, "Just because we move units." But the album also has a current of longing to it, of missing regular life, regular relationships. Musically, Cork Tree's first five tracks are relentless, with razor-sharp melodies that seem familiar but sound totally unique at the same time. The "Oh! Oh!"s and punchy chords of "Of All the Gin Joints in All the World" are a thrill greater than any Jimmy Eat World album ever; "Sugar, We're Goin Down"'s half-time shifts are triumphs of tumbling words; and the opening track meditates wryly on all-ages shows' fame. Further, when Fall Out Boy rip into "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year," summer 2005 will not be able to ignore them. "We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need," they sing. It's obviously time to embrace our inner mall kid. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'Take This to Your Grave'
Release Date 5/6/2003
Tracks 12
Label Fueled by Ramen
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Fall Out Boy's full-length label debut, Take This to Your Grave is a smart collection of emo-influenced pop-punk tunes. It's long on harmony and the kind of earnest, dual guitar riffing listeners have come to expect from young rockers raised on a diet of hardcore, Punk-O-Rama comps, and MTV. But Fall Out Boy really necks ahead of the pack behind the enormous voice of dreamboat-in-training lead singer Patrick Stump and lyrical content that merges musings on love and youth with healthy amounts of cutting cynicism, savvy popular culture touchstones, and cheeky phraseology. Though it was issued by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello's Fueled By Ramen imprint, a hefty advance from Island allowed Fall Out Boy to record Grave at Butch Vig's Smart Studios compound in Madison, WI, and employ the skills of producer Sean O'Keefe, who'd handled the boards for units like Lucky Boys Confusion and Motion City Soundtrack. Of course, Island will be looking for a substantial return on investment from Fall Out Boy. But before the band follows in the footsteps of Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional -- which it deserves to and will -- listeners can enjoy Take This to Your Grave's undeniable mixture of exuberance and romantic hardcore. Like a high-school dreamer's homeroom notebook, Grave's margins are littered with impossibly clever turns of phrase. A preliminary scan of the record's song titles is enough to prove this. From the double-time hardcore of "Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over" to the shifting dynamics of "Homesick at Space Camp" (which was seemingly engineered by NASA to incite a crowd singalong), Fall Out Boy renders each song with a different mix of talents. Every time you think you've heard it all before, the band kills with another couplet. "I know I'm not your favorite record/The songs you grow to like never stick at first," Stump croons in "Dead on Arrival." Later, "Calm Before the Storm" dissects a relationship with an almost intellectual mix of casual, MTV-generation reference-making and a dose of self-analysis that suggests sadcore anti-hero Bill Callahan. After name-checking a throwaway Top 40 ditty, Stump addresses his ex: "What you do on your own time's just fine/My imagination's much worse." While Grave's 12 tracks run on the long-range external tanks of emotion that every teenager refuels with each miniature passing period drama, they're also professionally executed packets of melody. While the exposed nerve of hardcore is apparent throughout, Stump, bassist Peter Wentz, drummer Andrew Hurley, and guitarist Joseph Trohman are making music for a generation that appreciates a good hook, and isn't necessarily concerned where it comes from. Alternative, hip-hop, California skatepunk -- all the videos are directed the same way, and flannels, Fubu, and wallet chains are sometimes just set decorations. Fall Out Boy's positive is its honest intersection of pop's shallow nature with the rippling passion of hardcore. The band pulled all the frames of reference off the wall and built a larger one with the mismatched pieces. Inside it is Take This to Your Grave, a spectacular debut art project. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girl'
Release Date 1/28/2002
Tracks 9
Label Uprising
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Fall Out Boy's resounding success since Take This to Your Grave and From Under the Cork Tree guaranteed the reissue of their debut mini-album. Originally released in 2002 on the California imprint Uprising, Fall out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend was a Fall Out Boy primer, a hyper tantrum of humor, self-deprecation, puppy love, and Get Up Kids worship. "World's Not Waiting (For Five Tired Boys in a Broken Down Van)" and "Short, Fast, and Loud" were album summaries in song title, harmony, and triumphant chord crash; the energetic "Honorable Mention," with its allusions to detentions and being John Cusack, wasn't far behind. "And maybe next time/I'll remember not to tell you something stupid like I'll never leave your side." The band's youth accounted for some precocious lyrical turns, considerable debts to influence, and the out-of-control moments like "Moving Pictures." But Uprising's 2005 reissue proves that Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend is as vital for Fall Out Boy fans as any of the band's subsequent releases. And besides, who can resist a Parker Lewis reset? [The 2005 Uprising reissue included a label sampler that includes a track each from the Fall Out Boy-affiliated projects Project Rocket and the Kill Pill.] ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
