JESSIE REIMER
Staff Writer
Returning to the airwaves stronger than ever, Fall Out Boy’s fourth studio album, “Infinity on High,” storms the charts and indulges fans with catchy and infectious tracks. With this album, Fall Out Boy no longer fits into a scene box as the band proudly breaks through the stereotypes they openly criticize.
Produced by Island Records, “Infinity on High” hit stores Feb. 6. Their first single, “This Ain’t a Scene” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first rock single to do so since Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” in 1998. The single also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop 100 and No. 2 on the U.K. charts. Two days after its release, the single became the No. 1 downloaded single on iTunes.
Label owner Jay-Z opens the album with a shout-out, “Yeah, what you critics said would never happen/We dedicate this album to anybody, people said couldn’t make it.” The track, curiously titled “Thriller,” discusses Fall Out Boy’s loyalty to their fans as they sing, “our hearts beat for the diehards” over guitar jolting riffs and slam crashing drum waves.
The four-member Chicago band features Patrick Stump on vocals, Pete Wentz on bass, Joe Trohman on lead guitar and Andy Hurley on drums. Wentz writes the dark and clever lyrics while lead singer Stump composes unique accompaniments and well-crafted vocal lines.
Probably the most obvious difference from past Fall Out Boy albums is Stump’s colossal improvement in vocal style and ability. However catchy his past singles, Stump’s vocals sounded at best like a bratty punk-rock whiner. This time around, he employs blue-eyed soul tones mixed with a mature and powerful range as he skillfully croons lines like, “I sing the blues and swallow them too” in “Hum Hallelujah.”
The band’s captivating hooks and smooth melodic lines show off their pop influence, specifically on songs like “The Take Over, the Breaks Over” and “Hum Hallelujah.” One can recognize the punk and hardcore roots of the band in songs such as “Thriller” and “You’re Crashing But You’re No Wave.”
New on this album, collaborations with such names as Jay-Z and Babyface hint at an old school hip-hop vibe on tracks like “This Ain’t a Scene” and “Thnks fr th Mmrs” (shorthand for “Thanks for the Memories”).
Resonating stronger than ever, Wentz’s ever-so-emo lyrics string along listeners’ young hearts. Clever and occasionally poignant, Wentz captures the angst-driven nature of teen boys with songs such as “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?” in which Wentz’s lyrics read “We walk the plank on a sinking ship.”
Wentz exploits his black heart roots while “Singing songs that could only catch the ear of the desperate,” in songs like “The (After) Life of the Party.” In the extremely well-performed track, “Golden,” Wentz, in what sounds like a personal confession, alludes to a fear of disappointment and failure. He writes, “All of the mothers raise their babies to stay away from me.”
In “Infinity on High,” Fall Out Boy takes risks that earn them a distinctive place among the pack of other pop/rock acts. “Fame < Infamy” musically models something Alkaline Trio would write, but the vocals clearly differ. Listen to “Me & You” with Maroon 5 in mind, and the song could mask itself as a new Maroon 5 single until the chorus kicks in. “Bang the Doldrums” resembles an AFI tune, but Fall Out Boy’s lighter pop feel sets the track apart.
The band still utilizes their signature long and seemingly random song titles. A prime example is, “I’m Like a Lawyer With the Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You),” which requires a little imagination to see one of Wentz’s quirky and hilariously crude puns.
Last year the band received a Grammy nod with a nomination for “Best New Artist” with their album “From Under The Cork Tree” and with the brilliant progression on “Infinity on High,” who knows what the boys will fall into next.
The album cleverly ends with the words “Now press repeat,” a recommendation well suited for the album.
Gliding through a variety of genres for influence, the boys defy the pop-punk boundaries of previously released albums as they achieve a new status in the hierarchy of the music world.
02-15-2007