The uber geeks

Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High review

Grade: A-

I know, I know, I know there are a lot of Fall Out Boy haters. And my words to them, I really think a good amount of you are just hating because it’s the thing to do. Honestly, there is nothing to hate about this band as a band. They don’t profess to be the most serious of bands, and if anyone draws the ire of aggression (perhaps deservedly), namely Pete Wentz, that does not mean the band in of itself is “crap.”

This is what Fall Out Boy do. They create catchy hooks, catchy melodies, and overlay them with catchy, good sounding vocals of Patrick Stump. That’s it. They are a catchy band. They are good at what they do, so give them their props. I’m not going to profess to be holier than thou just to jump on the it’s cool to hate FOB bandwagon.

With all that being said, Fall Out Boy delivers yet another catchy album full of sing along melodies and trying-too-hard song titles. They deliver handily, might I add. While nothing will match their killer debut (yes, I know “FOB’s Evening With Your Girl” is technically their first album), “Take This to Your Grave,” this is right up there with “From Under the Cork Tree.” Granted nothing is as immediately accessible and hit worthy as “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” but this album is chock full of radio-friendliness.

It’s much to my chagrin then that they chose “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” as their first single. Yes, the verses are very good, but the chorus is a shame, especially when Fall Out Boy are so good at writing such memorable choruses. They don’t need a phrase repeated incessantly like they have here.

The album starts out with an energetic kick fueled by Jay-Z’s cool intro, addressing the previously mentioned “haters.” “Thriller” is just but one of the very good and cool sounding songs on an album filled to the brim.

Then the fun continues with the undeniably head snapping “I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You).” Didn’t I mention they try way too hard to be clever with their song titles? Anyway, I digress.

“Golden” is a song that I’m sure will be hated by the teenie-boppier fans of Fall Out Boy. It’s a nice change of pace and a welcome addition to the catalog of the slower songs of Fall Out Boy. It’s a shame that it’s also the shortest song on the album, since Patrick Stumph’s stellar vocals would do well to be showcased for a couple more minutes.

“Tnks Fr Th Mmrs” uses a famous line from the movie closer and features a stringed, almost ominous sound. The album just continues to chug along with song after song that could be a hit.

Honestly, there isn’t a really weak song on this album, though an argument can be made that “Arms Race” is the least enjoyable. Musically I think this on par with “From Under The Cork Tree.” Lyrically, I’m not so sure this will be able to stick as much as their last two, since I was able to quote them verbatim. This album doesn’t seem to have the memorable factor like their last two did. But really it doesn’t matter in the end, it is still mighty enjoyable.

The main complaint I have about this album are in two songs in which Pete Wentz is used for a talking/screaming piece. Pete here’s some free advice for you - you were so much better on “Take This to Your Grave” when you were used only to scream as a backup to the vocals. I wish they would have done that at least once on this album, instead of having you talk whatsoever. When you screamed on TTTYG it sounded awesome and were probably some my favorite parts of the album, especially on “Calm Before The Storm.” Please start doing that again, instead of doing this talking crap.

Overall, you’ve probably already made your mind up about Fall Out Boy. You most likely either think they are great or think they are the worst thing to music in the last 20 years. Either way this album is still going to sell like hot cakes. In the end it won’t make a difference, but I wish people could see there really is talent here before writing them off. I wish these people heard the excellent acoustic “My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue” which really features Patrick’s voice and not Pete’s ego. My advice to those who have written these guys off just because they are beloved by little girls that pierce eardrums and write in horrible MySpace grammar without ever really hearing their music is this: listen to their acoustic EP first, then listen to TTTYG, and then it’s a toss up between “Infinity on High” and “From Under the Cork Tree.” You just might find out you can stand Fall Out Boy a lot more than you think.

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