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Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High
(Island Def Jam/Universal)
For a band named after a secondary Simpsons character, Fall Out Boy sure are a bunch of overachievers. And proud of it, man.
Of course, that's not always a good thing. After all, nobody likes a showoff. And these Chicago emo-punks are total grandstanders. The self-referential lyrics, the foot-long song titles, the extroverted antics, the audacious songs -- it all screams for attention. And it's earned them plenty.
Their 2005 breakout CD From Under the Cork Tree and the mega-hit Sugar, We're Going Down turned these floppy-haired shlubs from MySpace cult heroes to bona fide stars. But it also made them the target of haters who blame them for everything that's overblown and self-indulgent in contemporary pop-punk.
Both camps are going to feel vindicated by FOB's fittingly titled third album Infinity on High. Look -- or listen -- no further than the over-the-top single This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race. It fuses the glittery disco-pop stomp of Scissor Sisters with a charging punk anthem, then tosses in falsetto doo-doo-doo, doo-do-dooooo! backups. It's either a 3:32 sugar-burst of near-perfect pop, or the sound of a band that doesn't know when enough is enough. (We vote for the former.)
It's not the only time the Fall Outs modify their buzzsaw-guitar emo-punk arsenal with unconventional weapons of mass distraction on this expansive offering. Thriller (no, not that Thriller) gene-splices a boasting rap-style intro (from none other than label boss Jay-Z) to a piledriving nu-metal riff.
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The Take Over, the Break's Over has a new wavy My Sharona guitar lick and handclaps.
I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off busts some funky moves thanks to producer Babyface (yes, that Babyface) -- who also adds fluttery violins and Latin acoustic guitars to the arena-rock crunch of Thnks fr th Mmrs. The strings return on The (After) Life of the Party, joined by a skittery beatbox groove. Carpal Tunnel of Love, meanwhile, channels the spirit of Urge Overkill's Sister Havana (actually, the more we listen to frontman Patrick Stump, the more we hear Nash Kato -- and that's a good thing). The grand finale I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears has the pumping piano and tense horns of an Aaron Spelling cop-drama theme. You couldn't cram more cheek and chutzpah into these tunes with a crowbar. Or more razor-sharp hooks and singalong choruses, for that matter.
And speaking of cheek -- check out bassist Pete Wentz's cock-of-the-rock-walk talk. If he's not going on about living "in hotel rooms collecting Page 6 lovers" or yammering about how he's "God's gift; why would he bless me with such wit?" he's telling the kids they can "make us poster boys for your scene, but we are not making an acceptance speech." Even his humble moments are just that: moments. When he says "I'm so sorry," the next words out of his mouth are "but not really." No wonder some folks hate him. Dude doesn't do himself any favours in real life, either -- after these tunes found their way to the Net a few weeks back, Wentz said it might be "the worst leak in the history of music."
Geez, Pete. Calm down. It's just a CD -- a great CD, sure, but still just a CD. So don't have a cow, man.
Track Listing:
1. Thriller
2. Take Over, The Breaks Over
3. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
4. I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & Y
5. Hum Hallelujah
6. Golden
7. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
8. Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?
9. (After) Life of the Party
10. Carpal Tunnel of Love
11. Bang the Doldrums
12. Fame < Infamy
13. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave
14. I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers