12/22/2022
Fall Out Boy Deep Dive Review
Fall Out Boy is my all-time favorite band, and I’ve made that clear many times, but they are more than that to me. They are the band that ultimately got me into music, as well as being the blueprint of what I look for when it comes to bands and artists. Fall Out Boy have everything I love when it comes to music — a killer vocalist in the form of Patrick Stump, a clever lyricist in the form of Pete Wentz, fantastic songwriting (first from Stump but the band became more collaborative over time), and an ever-evolving sound that still reminds you of the classic sound. They went from being a scrappy pop-punk band almost 20 years ago to being a rock band that sells out arenas and stadiums. They are one of the few successful rock bands left, despite how some people wouldn’t say that nowadays (even though rock is a very relative term, considering the rock music of the 1950s isn’t the same as the 1960s or 1970s). These guys are one of the most influential bands in existence, whether it’s to me personally, or to pop-punk and alternative music. My other favorite band is Metallica, and I may do a deep dive review on them, too, but where I’ve been a fan of Fall Out Boy for over 15 years now, I feel as though I have a lot more to say without having to reacquaint myself with their music. The Metallica one may be a good idea, though, but I digress. We’re here to talk about Fall Out Boy, my all-time favorite band and the band that connects me to my Midwestern roots, because they’re from a suburb of Chicago, which is very close to the Wisconsin / Illinois border, so hearing the various references to both states and/or the Midwest always has me giddy. With that said, this deep-dive “review” is going to be a few things, which is why I put that in quotes. This piece will be about looking at their records critically, but it’ll also be a love letter to the band, and talking about how much they mean to me. Also, this piece will be in chronological order, versus a ranking, but I’ll do a ranking at the end, just to show everyone where I stand on these records, especially after spending more time with them.
I. Take This To Your Grave
The first place we need to start is at the beginning, with their debut LP, 2003’s Take This To Your Grave. They did have an “album” in 2002, entitled An Evening Out With Your Girlfriend, but it was an unlicensed release that the band disowns that was put out to capitalize on their newfound popularity, so I personally don’t count that one. When it comes to Take This To Your Grave, I have a complicated relationship with this record; I loved this LP when I first heard it back in 2012, only a mere five years after getting into them (part of the reason is that downloading music wasn’t as common yet, and I could never find a copy of it on CD, but I did at Walmart for like $9 one day, although I did know a few songs on it quite well). I was an 18-year-old kid that was angsty and pop-punk was my outlet, so I loved it. As I got older, my feelings somewhat soured on it, because this album was written by literal 18-year-olds, and the lyrics are still clever, but still juvenile at times, as well as somewhat misogynistic in places. They seemed to have done the same thing that the Beastie Boys did in the 90s, and realized that those lyrics would not get them far, despite being clever and tongue-in-cheek, but they can’t last on that sense of lyricism forever. As it stands now, I’ve grown to love Take This To Your Grave again, but for different reasons. This record has its problems, namely that the lyrics are a bit immature and misogynistic, Patrick Stump’s vocals aren’t at the peak they are now, as he was just starting to find his voice, and the songwriting was pretty standard pop-punk, but with a slight pop flair to it, adding some catchy and melodic hooks that the genre wasn’t totally known for, at least not yet. The album is still quite good, just for its influence on the scene at large, and how nostalgic it is, whether for the listener and how young they were when they heard it, or for how the genre has matured and grown over time. It’s still one of the best in the genre, at least when it comes to more straightforward stuff, because it does a little more than what most bands were doing at the time. I’ve got the idea that this album is a hardcore album with a pop-punk sheen, as the band were all involved with various hardcore bands, and only made this band to indulge in a catchier and softer style of music, and this is the result of a bunch of hardcore kids making a pop-punk record. That’s why it works so well. This album is an important one, and hell, the song “Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy” is one of the most iconic songs in their whole catalog, as well as the pop-punk canon. People still talk about this record today, despite it not being perfect. It’s still got a lot of heart, spirit, and a unique flavor in the forms of Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz.
II. From Under The Cork Tree
After Take This To Your Grave, which they got signed to Fueled By Ramen, they put out an acoustic EP in the form of My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue, which is a small EP that includes a CD and a DVD, and I didn’t hear this until years later, but I enjoy this thing. It’s nothing essential in their canon, but it’s got some nice acoustic renditions of a few songs from the debut, as well as a few new songs, and a cover of a Joy Division. Released in 2004, this was right before they really hit it big with their second album, 2005’s From Under The Cork Tree, which got them signed to Island Records, as well as the album going double-platinum. This also features two of their biggest singles, “Dance, Dance,” and one of my personal favorites, “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down.” Like the debut, I didn’t hear this one for a few years, either, until I found it at FYE, and finally heard the whole thing, but I loved it. This wasn’t quite my favorite album of theirs, but it was always second, at least until I began to appreciate another one of their albums a lot more. I have a similar relationship to this one with Take This To Your Grave, too, because I’ve gone from loving it, merely liking it, and then loving it again, only for different reasons. This LP is a bit sharper and more pop-focused, so Stump’s vocals are a bit tighter and frankly better, but the lyrics aren’t as immature, despite having a few moments, especially in the angsty teen and young adult categories. A lot of my favorite songs are on here, too, including the singles and some deep cuts, but this one has aged a little better with time, especially outside of nostalgia. That’s mainly why their first two albums work still, but I still think they’re catchy and well-written albums, it’s just that I don’t go to them when I’m picking albums of theirs to listen to. This one is a great introduction to new fans of the band, or even pop-punk, because this is often considered to be one of the best albums of the genre, as well as one of the best albums of the 00s, whether it comes to pop-punk or rock in general.
III. Infinity On High
Fall Out Boy went from a scrappy little band that had an underground following in the punk world to mainstream celebrities almost overnight, and with that new found sense of fame comes some shakeups in their sound. That’s where 2007’s Infinity On High comes into play, which is my favorite album of all time, as well as the album that got me into music. Out of their pre-hiatus music, which we’ll talk more about later on, this is the one album of theirs to go number one, and despite not selling as many as Cork Tree, it still sold very well. This is the album that I first heard by these guys, and I remember it well — I was in 8th grade, and I went to Target every weekend with my mom, and she would let me get one album a week, which would become my fixation for the whole week, and this was when music still came out on Tuesdays, so I’d see all the new music a few days later, instead of getting it on release day, but they had a whole display of it. I had listened to them before that, hearing the singles from Cork Tree, but I knew I had to hear it. Obviously, I picked it up, and the rest is history. This is the record that became the blueprint for what I like — killer vocals, hooks for days, experimentation, clever lyrics, and varied songwriting. That changed a bit when I got into heavier music, of course, but I still look for all or most of those things. There are only a couple of songs on this album I don’t care for, and they’re a couple of the slower cuts on here, but this record is such a departure from Cork Tree, it’s unreal. The band turned to a lot of outside producers and songwriters for this record, so Infinity On High is definitely more of a pop-rock album, versus pop-punk, and that did seem like a betrayal to a lot of the diehards. They felt like the band turned their backs on them, but personally, they needed to lean into their pop experimentation, especially because of Patrick Stump’s expressive vocals that always leaned into pop, R&B, and soul music. He leans into that here very hard, especially on cuts like “This Ain’t A Scene,” “Thks Fr Th Mmrs,” “I’m Like A Lawyer,” and many more, and on the latter two tracks, they got legendary R&B artist and producer Babyface behind the boards, which makes a lot of sense given their sounds. Even the lyrics are different, as Wentz was less about talking about relationships gone awry, and speaking about broader topics, such as fame and success, all the whole retaining that clever tongue he’s known for. If Cork Tree didn’t turn people’s heads into this band, Infinity On High sure did. This album turned them into megastars.
IV. Folie A Deux
If Infinity On High made the band fly too close to the sun, 2008’s Folie A Deux is the album that brought them back to Earth, at least in more ways than one. For starters, Folie didn’t do as well, only getting to number eight on the Billboard album charts, and the singles from the album didn’t do as well as the singles from the last couple of albums, but this album also led to their brief disintegration. Both guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, whom I’ve failed to mention during this whole piece (solely because a lot of writing done at the time was done by Stump and Wentz; they were pretty similar to Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1960s, as the other two Beatles didn’t write that much on their records), wanted more chances to write on the albums, and it felt like they were not a cohesive band, which ultimately led to them taking a brief hiatus. This album also marked even more of a sound shift, leaning completely into the pop world, including more elements of soul and R&B, as well as some funk here and there, but it really alienated fans. They hated it, and while the album gets a lot more love now, people did not like it. Folie A Deux was always their most maligned album, and while that’s changed, this album led to their breakup. It’s a shame, because this record is one of my favorites for its risks, and the idea of it being so blatantly catchy and pop-friendly, which really helps to let Stump and his songwriting shine, especially when he’s said he was influenced by Michael Jackson and Prince, among other artists.
V. Save Rock & Roll
The band took a hiatus in 2009, and the pop-punk / alternative world was amiss. During the next couple of years, the band would have various other projects, most notably Hurley and Trohman would start The Damned Things, a hard-rock band with Keith Buckley, formerly of Every Time I Die, and Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Patrick Stump had his solo career, which included an EP and a debut album, both of which were quite good, but in the winter of 2013, rumors began to surface that they were coming back, all the while the band kept denying it. Finally, they unleashed the song “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,” and fans went wild. This ushered in a new era for the band, because they went full radio-rock with this one, abandoning the pop-punk / emo of yesteryear. More power to them, too, because it was a great lead single. The album itself soon followed, featuring the likes of Elton John, Courtney Love, Big Sean, and Foxes, among other artists, but this is easily their most divisive album. I remember when it came out, and people either loved it or hated it. I personally loved it, because it was more of what Patrick Stump was doing on his solo material, especially with his vocals, but with a more rock sound bent to it. They leaned a lot into pop, but this album has slightly soured on me with time. It has some great stuff, including the lead single, “Young Volcanoes,” “Where Did The Party Go,” “Miss Missing You,” and a few more, but it also has moments that I don’t care for, especially Courtney Love and Big Sean. The songwriting is also rather blasé compared to their last few albums before that one, although it’s tighter and more focused, which is a good thing, I suppose. It was a very successful album, though, and a good comeback for the band. Love it or hate it, people were still happy they came back.
VI. American Beauty / American Psycho
After Save Rock & Roll, the band were getting as big as they were in the 00s, and that’s not something you can say about a lot of bands from that time, let alone rock bands. They did release a deluxe version of the album with an EP called PAXAM Days, where they recorded a hardcore EP, kind of like their older material. Two years later, they came back with American Beauty / American Psycho, and if people hated the last one, they really hated this. I can kind of understand why, though, because this was the time that bands like Imagine Dragons were huge, and they popularized that really bombastic rock sound that a lot of bands copied, as did Fall Out Boy. “Centuries,” for example, sounds like something they would have done. It’s a catchy song, but it’s also rather bland at the same time, so I don’t know. The album sort of follows that template, really leaning into the sports arena anthems, versus being catchy in terms of a songwriting perspective that a lot of their earlier work was. This just feels catchy to sell radio time. I still really like this LP, but it’s also soured on me over time. A few songs don’t do much for me anymore, but it’s still good overall, and has some catchy and clever moments.
VII. M A N I A
Finally, we’re at their latest album, 2018’s M A N I A, which appeared a few years later, and to be honest, this is one of my favorite Fall Out Boy albums. I love how catchy, slick, concise, and clever this one is. This record is also varied, but also very catchy and interesting. A couple of songs have a sports arena / Imagine Dragons feel, such as “Champion,” but it doesn’t feel as blatant as “Centuries,” at least. Patrick Stump has never sounded better, either; his hooks and vocals on this LP are amazing, but he also has a lot more to work with, such as soul, R&B, pop, and alternative rock cuts. This album makes for a very unique experience, even if it’s their most divisive album out of their post-hiatus material. Every song on this album is memorable in its own way, especially for being a 36-minute album. This isn’t just my favorite album of their post-hiatus material, this is one of my favorite FOB albums period. It’s exactly what I look for in music, especially from them. Sure, it’s no Folie, or Infinity On High, but it’s really damn good, nonetheless.
VIII. Dear Future Self
After M A N I A, they released an EP later on in the year that serves a love letter to their hometown called Lake Effect Kid, and it’s a three-song EP. They released a greatest hits volume in 2019 (a sequel to one they released in the mid-00s), featuring two new songs, and while I could take or leave those songs, they’re certainly unique. As for their future, they’ve been teasing a new record, and I really hope they put out a new single soon with a new record in 2023. I’ve been itching for a new record for the last four years, almost five, and it’s so exciting to see what they’re going to do next. I did want to rank their albums really quick, being their studio albums, and not EPs, just to see where my ranking falls on their material now, versus the last time I did a ranked review on them.
7. American Beauty / American Psycho
6. Save Rock & Roll
5. Take This To Your Grave
4. From Under The Cork Tree
3. M A N I A
2. Folie A Deux
1. Infinity On High
