Fall Out Boy: Folie à Deux

The royal aide approached the queen and urged her "Your highness, the people are starving. They've run out of bread" to which Mary Antoinette famously (and perhaps fictitiously) replied callously "Let them eat cake".

The concept of the aloof A-list has plagued celebrities for decades. The danger being that as you gain the visage of living the dream: you both lose your connection with the common man and your right to complain about any shortcomings within your life.

The latter seems to be a fact of which the band are acutely aware of, leading to the declaration on album opener 'Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes' (?) that "No one wants to hear you sing about tragedy." Instead, the boys concern themselves with the effects of fame, their various relationships and other quasi-philosophical psycho-babble ("I don’t care what you think/ as long as it’s about me")

As you may have noticed, Fall Out Boy make up the butt of many a joke which start along the lines of "What do you call a shockingly bad band?" with most placing the blame on the band's poster boy Pete Wentz. Despite his less than impressive attempts at lyricism though, Wentz's only crimes seem to be (1) His life is more interesting to the media than the others and (2) He has a habit for talking as much crap as he dates. No, for the majority of the album's failings the finger falls squarely on front-man and composer Patrick Stump.

Stump displays an increasing boredom with the genre in which he operates, a condition which seems to lend his nature to genre A.D.D. Often, without purpose or warning, he feels compelled to steer songs on ridiculous tangents at a whim with no regard for logical progression. 'W.A.M.S' fades out on a promising riff in favour of a stifled a-Capella venture delivered in an Americana style. '20 Dollar Nose Bleed' likewise sees fit to insert a honky-tonk serenade into its runtime. 'Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet' features a ridiculous attempt at a Paul Banks style Baritone not exactly strengthened by the forthcoming segue into a pre-chorus right out of Boyzone's play-book. Within the same song, a shameless attempt at an arm-waving finale is shoe-horned in replete with the requisite vibrato guitar which really impels those biceps.

In terms of pitiful balladry, one attempt is not enough for Stump, a need which gives rise to the risible 'What a Catch Donnie'. Opting for every ballad cliche known to man (and Celine Dion) no fewer than seven guest vocalists are roped in, seemingly for the simple task of singing "na na na na nah na" while Stump hones his Aguilera impression. When the late-in-the-game key-change hits, a light suddenly clicks as to why this shtick seems so familiar. Should you have ever seen an episode of a yellow family featuring TV show which contains the song 'We're Sending Our Love Down the Well' you may very well have the same bulb-illumination moment.

'Tiffany Blews' serves to indulge Stump's increasing interest in hip-hop by fusing it into a pop-punk effort. [ring ring] "Hi there, is that Lil Wayne?" "It Is" "Oh good, we need some vague ramblings about you being a boy and how gravity affects you." "Cool, I'll be right down to the studio, hey, I'm feeling rather lethargic today, do you mind if we whack my raps through heavy modulation?" "No, that'll be fine!"

When they cease spinning the genre-wheel things seem heavily anchored to 'bouncy verse/power-chord chorus' land. So when Fall Out Boy aren't achieving cringe-worthy, they often hit the land of the uncompelling. There are probably few fans left over from the Take This To Your Grave-era F.O.B yet that album proved that when the boys stuck to what they were best at, they were a whole lot better. Sadly, that album's influence seems to be increasingly dust covered and small in the rear-view mirror. That said though, we are awarding a bonus point for (1) Ripping off Rachel Stevens' 'Some Girls' on 'I Don't Care', and (2) That "Detox just to re-tox" lyric.