Infinity On High [Digipak] [Limited]

Performer: Fall Out Boy
Artist: Jay-Z
Producer: Neal Avron; Babyface
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Fall Out Boy: Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman, Andrew Hurley. Additional personnel: Jay-Z. Like My Chemical Romance, the wildly popular emo band Fall Out Boy opted to follow its breakthrough record (in this case, 2005's FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE) with a highly ambitious outing. Although it doesn't quite aspire to the concept-album grandeur of the aforementioned group's BLACK PARADE, 2007's INFINITY ON HIGH showcases a wider musical palette for FOB, which is immediately apparent on the disc's bold first single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," a dynamic track that mixes a jaunty R&B-tinged melody with the ensemble's signature guitar-fueled energy. Even songs that hew closer to Fall Out Boy's punk-pop template bristle with restless creativity, as on the surging "Carpal Tunnel of Love," which finds frontman Patrick Stump nailing an unexpected soaring falsetto during the remarkably catchy chorus. While INFINITY ON HIGH might rattle fans of the Illinois-based band's less glossy, more direct earlier material, the album is a fitting progression for the earnest group, and stands as an intriguing response to the glare of the mainstream spotlight. A funny thing happened to Fall Out Boy on the road to Infinity on High: they got famous. Before 2005's From Under the Cork Tree they were just another pop-punk unit from suburban Chicago happy to break even at shows with gas money. Next thing anyone knew, they were headlining arenas and being heralded as the new face of pop-punk alongside their peers in My Chemical Romance. It was a position that never seemed to rest easy with the guys, and because of this, Infinity on High seems a bit conflicted. Fall Out Boy wants to charm everyone here. They want to prove themselves to critics by moving past the confines of emo, allowing a love of all things pop to come right to the forefront. Yet they also want to resonate directly with those day-one fans who may long for the intimate VFW shows of yesterday. This disparity makes points of the record seem awkward, and for the first time, the band appears to over-think things. Pete Wentz's lyrics are oftentimes resentful, full of fame-induced angst, and really emphasize his need to drive home his position that stardom has not changed the band. So it's in weird contrast to these sentiments that Jay-Z is the one opening the album and calling out haters who said FOB would fail. The glorification of their celebrity abruptly switches into Patrick Stump stating (pleading?) that the band is not buying into the hype -- nor do they even want it. "Make us poster boys for your scene/But we are not making an acceptance speech" is defiant, and when his sweet voice asserts, "Crowds are won and lost and won again/But our hearts beat for the diehards," it's clear that FOB still holds their roots close. But this is contradicted by the fact that the album's majority is far and away their poppiest material to date, more pop/rock than pop-punk, which inevitably means more interesting to those who know them just as that "Dance, Dance" band with the media-whoring bassist, Pete Wentz. So the results are hit-and-miss. The Maroon 5-ish "I'm Like a Lawyer..." is glaringly one of the Babyface-produced tracks, and with a vocal hook uncomfortably close to Phil Collins' cover of "Groovy Kind of Love," it plays like the guys were the ruffled house band for a prom. It's ill-fitting, a notion that continues in cuts like the soft rock piano of "Golden" and the airy "The (After) Life of the Party." But on the flip side, the fizzy urban-pop nugget "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" dances around double-time hardcore choruses and backing choral singers with dizzying precision and infectious results, while dramatic gospel flair excellently lines "Hum Hallelujah." Stump's vocal control and agility is incredible; he truly brings songs alive in a way uniquely his own, and it's a toss-up as to whether he or drummer Andrew Hurley should get this record's gold star. So it's not to say the pop explosion that is Infinity on High is all bad. Even the studio extravagances -- multiple producers (Babyface and Butch Walker handle a few outside Neil Avron) and decadent layers of horns, string sections, and choirs -- don't detract from its overall enjoyability. Yet unlike My Chemical Romance, who knew exactly what they wanted in the grand theatrics of 2006's Welcome to the Black Parade and completely went for it without apology, Fall Out Boy is at odds. Previously, they could easily skip around with pop baggage, hardcore tension, cunning wordplay, and infectious melodies without losing their edge. Now they just seem too self-aware. Don't misunderstand: once Infinity on High sinks in, it's indeed a fun record. But for a band that was once so self-assured and able to utilize its talents so compellingly, the album is regrettably haphazard. Fall Out Boy may hate people who "dissect us 'til this doesn't mean a thing anymore," but in trying to appeal to all of them, they lost something unique along the way. ~ Corey Apar

Rolling Stone (p.65) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "'This Ain't a Scene' is a bold single, complete with sampled drums and a Nineties R&B hook Rolling Stone (p.116) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "Giant pop-rock songs with confectionery choruses..." Spin (p.81) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The band's brawny emo riffs and sugary hooks are still evident on songs like 'Hum Hallelujah,' but Wentz and Co. have beefed up their sound considerably..." Entertainment Weekly (p.71) - "FOB's guitars still blare, and Stump has evolved into a superb frontman, with a voice that slides supplely from a bratty punk bark into a honeyed falsetto." -- Grade: A- Q (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Gleaming with instant hooks, this is a uniformly radio-friendly album. It's also a hugely addictive and likeable one" Uncut (p.79) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t all adds up to a brave endeavour." Alternative Press (p.133) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Lyricist Pete Wentz breaks out of his usual first-person perspective without sacrificing any insight or honesty, and singer Patrick Stump delivers some of the band's most gut-wrenching and powerful melodies to date." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) - "[H]ere the musical brain behind the band gets to use the studio as his personal playroom, polishing and buffing the band's sound until it shines brightly enough for mainstream magpies." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.70) - Ranked #10 in Kerrang's "The Top 20 Albums Of 2007" -- "[T]his album will be a staple of radio rock playlists for years to come." Q (Magazine) (p.74) - Ranked #38 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "[A] bold, gleaming pop album."

The mercurial term "emo" has meant many different things since its first appearance in the mid-1980s hardcore punk underground. By the mid 2000s, the term was best exemplified by the band Fall Out Boy. Playing an accessible brand of melodic rock marked by clever, classically angsty lyrics and the blistering energy of punk's harsher sub-genres, Fall Out Boy rocketed to near TRL superstardom following the release of 2005's FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE.

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