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  • Infinity on High








Infinity on High


Fall Out Boy / CD / 2007


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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.
 
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USER REVIEWS   write your own review
Average Review:   Number of reviews: 10

  A reviewer from atlanta ga
awsome cd buy it!! i did
this cd is really cool if you listen songs over and over you really get it
  th from New York
wow
OMG!!!! THIS IS THE BEST!!!!!!! plus, I LOVE PATRICK STUMP!!!! HE IS SOOOO CUTE!!!
  kristi jones from jacksonville,fl
awesome
this album is so awesome...i love you pete
  Elizabeth from chicago,IL
fob will probably be great
hahahah im first well yeah i heard thriller and this aint a scene its an arms race and carpel tunnel of love and they're all amazing so i expect greatnesss especally with they're past record. greatttnesss.
  sara from miami, Fl
f*****g awsome!!!
holy s**t! i love this album! fall out boy u are amazing! and i LOVE!!!!!!! PETE WENTZ SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... MUCH!!!!!!!!!! well pete i am ur #1 fan ad i love u and fall out boy! and u were soooo f*****g awsome live!!!! pete u looked sooo f****g HOT!!! thanx 4 being so awsome!! write back!
  A reviewer from michigan
AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!
SAWEET!!!!
  MARIA GONZALEZ from JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY
FALL OUT BOY HAS DONE IT AGAIN!..GREAT ALBUM
THIS IS A GREAT ALBUM..I LOVE, THIS AINT A SCENE....THNKS FR TH MANNRS....AND SOO MANY MORE....OUT OF THE 14 SONGS, I LIKE 12 OUT OF 14..THATS PRETTY GOOD...I LUV FALL OUT BOY ..ESPECIALLY PETE!..ANYWAY, GO BUY THIS ALBUM..U WONT REGRET IT
  Cricket from Warren, MI
HELLO FELLAS
I can't wait to see ya back in the Detroit area again!!!! YOU ARE GREATLY MISSED!!!!!
  Me from nowhere
still good
not as good as from under the cork tree, but still good
  Someone from Who wants to know
Number One
This is my favorite album at the moment, I find this album their best as they explored something differnt. A MUST BUY!!!!!

AMG © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC
Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.

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