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Fall Out Boy
South By Southwest (SXSW) is one of the preeminent new music venues in the U.S. The annual event closes down Austin's 6th Avenue and turns the clubs and theaters that line the street into make or break arenas for countless bands, many of which are unsigned. The idea is to impress some record label type. At the very least get some music writer to pen a few kind words that might create a buzz. Unfortunately, in most cases the label heavyweights and the writers are all too wasted to remember what they hell they heard, much less determine whether they liked it or not. Chicago's Fall Out Boy actually beat the odds and came out of their '03 South By Southwest appearances with positive reviews that helped build a national following.
Fall Out Boy formed in '00. A self-released demo hit the following year with a split LP, with Project Rocket, coming out in '02. Early, the next year they released "Evening Out With Your Girlfriend." That got the group noticed. First they were signed to Fueled By Ramen, a label co-owned by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Balzano. Island Records also got into the act providing the advance for the group's "proper" debut. "Take This To Your Grave" was the result.
'05 release "Under The Cork Tree" preceded an extensive tour. Fall Out Boy even won an Road Woodie (Best Tour) at the student-selected mtvU Woodie Awards held in New York. While all this was going on Wentz found the time to "discover" * and sign Panic! At The Disco to his own Decaydance label.
"Infinity On High" dropped in early '07. The album's title had an artistic reference. "It's taken from a quote by Vincent van Gogh," said Wentz. The first single was "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race." The group then headlined the Honda Civic Tour. "We try and make a show that we would have wanted to go see if we were kids going to see shows right now, added Trohman.
* They sent him a two-song demo.
Back in the church key era, give or take a few weeks, song titles were simple declarative statements like, "She Loves You" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Meanwhile, Bob Dylan was in the back room distilling songs from smoke and whispers with the Asher Queen. When he emerged he gave the world, or approximately what was left of it, songs with extended, if teasing titles like, "Stuck In Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" and "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry." On one hand, these words were run together in such a way that gave weighted etherealness to Dylan's lyrics while still letting people in on the joke. Deciphering the indecipherable became the rage. Fall Out Boy has lifted the elongated song title cocept but more for their own and their fan's amusement than anything else.
F.O.B. plays muscular yet melodic and engaging Punk. They can, at times, approximate the snotty charm of prime Blink 182. Ex-girlfriends, soon to be ex-girlfriends, bad breaks and a jaundice view of the world are lyrical topics effectively delivered by Stump's heart-on-my-sleeve tenor. It can be difficult to determine whether Stump is singing with his tongue-in-his-cheek or biting down on it hard. Fortunately, the group's music is as clever as their song titles ("Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued" or "The Pros And Cons Of Breathing" and "It's Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine, It Must Be Love"). Fall Out Boy Rocks and Rocks hard.
"Infinity On High" shows that F.O.B is a group to reckon with. "Thriller" with its reference to "car crash hearts" sets the tone. There is a reckless momentum to the album that escapes by the skin of its teeth. "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" plays to F.O.B.'s strengths. It's a high voltage song with hyper backing vocals that punctuate and propel the track. Little wonder it was released as a single. The contrast of a thumping bass line and slashing guitar drive "Thanks For The Memories" while "Carpal Tunnel Of Love" and "Hum Hallelujah" provide the hook filled energy to put the album over.
Fall Out Boy's earlier albums ("Take This To Your Grave," "Evening Out With Your Girlfriend" and "From Under The Cork Tree") all feature potent performances. Even the acoustic EP "My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue" with "My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon" and the aforementioned "Cocaine" is an entertaining and compelling effort.
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