now playing: Fall Out Boy - Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet
Following hot on the heels of 2007's Infinity on High (Mercury), Fall Out Boy presented their fifth studio album Folie à Deux (Decaydance) in December of 2008. I'm not the first and I won't be the last to call Infinity a troubling change in the band's sound, which makes Folie all the more surprising. The band has struck exactly the right balance between the pop-rock anthems they've become known for and a new sound rife with stylistic experimentation and more guest singers than a Live Aid concert.
One thing Folie brings to the table is the hook, clear and prominent in every song. Maybe that's wrong -- maybe the hooks have always been there, but we've never been able to understand them. In between Infinity and this album, it seems vocalist Patrick Stump took lessons in diction. For the most part, the lyrics come out clear as a bell, leaving the mushmouth ways of being a little man who is also evil, also into cats far behind. This turns out for the better; lyrics criticizing emo bands and encouraging listeners to change their own lives wouldn't be half as powerful if they had to be checked and cross-checked with liner notes and lyric websites. And on the subject of subjects, the thirteen songs on this album seem to focus more on the tenets introduced by Ian Dury: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. While still keeping a poppy feel, Stump wails about having an illicit affair, a Benzedrine addiction, and how nothing can damage his ego, all decidedly rock staples. And he does it all tastefully in a way that will leave you singing for hours.
In fact, the whole band follows Stump in much the same way. In the course of listening, I was taken through pop-rock, classic rock, club, charity chorus (think "We Are the World"), and cabaret, with some songs even showing distinct electronic and R&B influences. Through all these styles, drummer Andy Hurley consistently impresses, showing off his chops in every last song. Guitarist Joe Trohman adds powerful licks and finally gets a few solos, and yes, even bassist Pete Wentz gets his time to shine with the bass-driven "w.a.m.s.".
However, for everything Folie à Deux does right, there are a few things that detract from the experience. Though Stump sings much more clearly, he still suffers from occasional incomprehensibility, most notably when he switches to falsetto. And unfortunately, the liner notes are no help; most of the pages are almost entirely blank, with the only hint to lyrics being through a website given on the last page of the booklet that just redirects to the official fan website, where the lyrics that are provided are wildly inaccurate. While I'm sure the band has a good idea behind this decision -- something like letting whatever you hear be the "right" lyrics -- part of me wishes they had just printed the lyrics in black and white. I do realize that shows some incredible nitpicking, though, so it doesn't detract too much from my final score.
I would be remiss, though, not to mention the incredible amount of guest artists on this album. One track, "What A Catch, Donnie", is a veritable who's who of Decaydance Records. It features guest vocals from Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes), Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco), Alex DeLeon (The Cab), Gabe Saporta (Cobra Starship), William Beckett (The Academy Is...), and Doug Neumann (Doug Does Decaydance). The great Elvis Costello joins the chorus in the very same song. Urie also sings on "20 Dollar Nose Bleed" and DeLeon adds his voice to "Tiffany Blews". Rapper Lil Wayne adds a bridge to "Tiffany Blews", and even Debbie Harry of Blondie gets her piece, singing part of the chorus of "West Coast Smoker". Maybe this album should have been called Folie à Plus. A-
You can find Folie à Deux on Amazon or iTunes. Do your part to save the industry and start buying music again. Fall Out Boy will be on tour with Cobra Starship, All Time Low, Hey Monday, and Metro Station in April. Go here for dates and tickets.
No comments:
Post a Comment