Altsounds - Fall Out Boy - Folie à Deux [Album]

Since the bands inception in 2001, Fall Out Boy have come a long way. From starting out rocking local shows in Chicago, IL in front of minuscule crowds to accomplishing worldwide stadium tour success. Fall Out Boy are [at this moment] one of the most popular bands of the current generation. They have expeditiously become one of those bands that everyone secretly likes and, I would hazard a guess that if you were truly honest with yourself, you too probably like a Fall Out Boy song or two. The bizzare thing about Fall Out Boy is that the least talented member [musically], bassist Pete Wentz often gets seen as the bands leader and is sometimes mistaken as being the singer. Smart move on their behalf though as although their real singer Patrick Stump has a good set of pipes, he is an overweight, near-30 balding guy which, probably doesn't get the girls screaming or throwing their knickers onstage. Pete Wentz however does materialize as the most talented from a business perspective- owning the successful Decaydance record label, a trendy New York bar, a slew of other ventures and upping his celebrity status by dating talentless singer Ashlee Simpson - the ugly sister of Jessica Simpson. It is safe to say that he is the driving force behind the huge success of this band to date.

Fall Out Boy are the kings of the internet driven musical revolution and whilst others have been busy sinking and abandoning ship, Fall Out Boy have successfully elevated themselves to worldwide super stardom through a solid work ethic, and a true understanding of how to use current technology as a tool to sell your band effectively. Maybe the major labels should be knocking on Wentz's door for some industry advice! If you are trying to get a similar success for your band using the same medium [the internet] to elevate your band to the next level, you will appreciate that it is still not that easy to do. If you find yourself in a quandary ask yourself "What would Wentz Do?".......that's right, he would get his cock out and take a photo of it [LOL]. Teenagers need heroes. Someone to look up too, to idolize and to want to mimic and, Fall Out Boy appear to fit that mould for them perfectly. Although you or they might not agree with the genre placement here, Fall Out Boy are currently the worlds biggest "emo" band although in reality they are more Pop Punk, or even just Pop than Emo.

So, Fall Out Boy have returned with their presidential election delayed 5th studio album "Folie a Deux", with longer hair and bigger beards. "Folie a Deux" has been hyped up a lot recently with all sorts of snippets and songs being preview-able before release which I am sure really helped to build up the buzz for the albums release. "Folie a Deux" apparently has A LOT of guests on it from legends such as Deborah Harry, Elvis Costello and Lil Wayne to a whole plethora of other Decaydance bands including Panic at the Disco and Gym Class Heroes (amongst others). Although on a listen to the album, the only two voices that are really noticeable at all, i.e. have main vocal parts, is Elvis Costello and the lead singer from Panic at The Disco. Where Debbie Harry and Lil Wayne were supposed to be I'll never know and I have listened to the album about 10 times [at this point] to try and figure this out! "Folie a Deux" is a very well produced album and there are choruses all over "Folie a Deux" that are more contagious than the common cold.

The first half of the album, [for what it is] is VERY good. Song after song you find yourself dancing, singing along or just feeling good about life. What's weird, is, much like label mate's Panic at The Disco's last album, the latter half of "Folie a Deux" appears to have a lot of Beatles influence in it from the strings in "Coffee's For Closers" to the "Hey Jude"/"All You Need Is Love" copycat "What A Catch, Donnie." This level of influence in a band that have never previously demonstrated it falls on deaf ears here and makes me dislike this album, much like it made me dislike the Panic at the Disco album. They have even duplicated The Beatles idea of getting all their friends from other bands etc to feature on it for the songs finale which, includes a small lead vocal by Elvis Costello which appears out of nowhere and for no apparent reason other than to extend the Fall Out Boy fan base. This copycat goes even further by mimicking the Na na na ending of "Hey Jude" and then singing popular lines from their other songs over the top a la "All You Need Is Love" which, at this point, starts to make me cringe at how formulaic and specific this counterfeit been crafted. The dilemma here is that they are stealing an entire songwriting blueprint from The Beatles without really giving the appropriate nod to them so that their young fans know where to go to hear the real thing [The Beatles - The White Album for anyone looking to check it out].

What Fall Out Boy have cleverly done with "Folie a Deux" is to inject [almost to overdose] numerous musical reference points throughout it from four generations of American popular music. This offers appeal for this album from your 13 year old sister to your Dad. The Beatles, Doctor and the Medics, Rush, Michael Jackson, The Beach Boys, New Found Glory and anything in between are cleverly woven into a nice Fall Out Boy Xmas sweater. For me, the album would have scored much higher had the attention to songwriting remained as high throughout the album as is present in tracks 1-7, or even if it was just released as an amazing mini album. As much as you might want to hate Fall Out Boy, "Folie a Deux" proves that Fall Out Boy are a lot smarter than initial impressions might suggest and that they continue developing their songwriting formulas that manifest the infectious Fall Out Boy reach further with each new song, and associated album.

NOTE: Check out the similarity of the main riff from "Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos" to the main riff of "Spirit in the Sky" by Doctor and the Medics. I personally think it's VERY close.

Tracks:

Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes
I Don't Care
Shes My Winona
America's Suitehearts
Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet
The (Shipped) Gold Standard
(Coffee's For Closers)
What A Catch, Donnie
27
Tiffany Blews
W.A.M.S.
20 Dollar Nose Bleed
West Coast Smoker
Beat It (Bonus Track)

Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/falloutboy