So, I've never done this before (in here, anyway), but the thing about FOB that has always gotten me—besides the killer lyrics, thank you Mr. Wentz—is Patrick Stump’s voice. It’s so good, it’s almost too good—it’s like he opens his mouth and this voice just comes out of it, sometimes I wonder if he even has any control over it or if it just comes out like that. I’m eagerly awaiting a Mamma Mia!/Movin’ Out-esc Broadway FOB show, and might have to write it if it doesn’t come out in, oh, we’ll say 10 years. Anyway, I’ve been putting off downloading this album because, first of all, I suspected it was a possibility for a Christmas/birthday present, and second of all, I’ve had no real time to sit down and take it in. However, on a Friday just before February, with nothing to do at work and having just downloaded UTorrent onto my office Mac, I’ve found that time.
1. Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes – Can we just start with, what the hell does this track title mean? Anyway, moving on. Starts off with a sweet little diddy from Patrick Stump, then launches into this really strong drums/guitar that I just love. Could the chorus (so boycott love/detox just to retox/and I'd promise you anything for another shot at life/and perfect boys with their perfect lives/nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy) be a little true to life/self-deprecating? Wentz has never held back with stuff like that before… A chant-heavy bridge and end with Stump shouting “so boycott love” over it will surely induce some fist-pumping at a live show. This, friends, is the way to start an album off right.
2. I Don't Care – Ahh, the first single. Another really sturdy beginning, and a great chorus to sing along with. This one will definitely be getting encores in my car on my way to work. Sounds like a super, super song to listen to/shout along with when you’re pissed at somebody. Fuck not with FOB, friends, and fuck not with this. I don’t care what you think, as long as it’s about me. Stump seems to be experimenting with different sounds he can pull off with his amazing voice, and I fully support those efforts. Go on, girlfriend.
3. She's My Winona - …Ryder?... Anyway. First off, I love a song that starts with a series of oh-oh’s, and this one delivers. That said, I don’t see this being my favorite song on the album. And THAT said, I stand by my theory that it is impossible to name one bad song by Fall Out Boy. This song is heavy on chants, which I generally enjoy, and the ba-dop-op-ba-dop part is amusing at the very least. I also really enjoy the woah-oh-oh-the thunder part of the chorus. Still…not my fav.
4. America's Suitehearts – This one starts off a little slowly, but I have a good feeling about it right off the bat. I think by now it’s clear that I’m pretty convinced that these boys can do no wrong, and this song, again, sounds different from what I’ve grown used to from our boys from Chicago, but I feel like I’m rolling the lyrics over in my head and deciding to like them. I love a good religious undertone, even if it’s just for writing purposes. And lines like “but I don't know much about classic cars (cars)/but I've got a lot of friends stuck on classic coke (coke)/down, set, one, hut, hut, hike/Media Blitz” are so classic clever FOB. I don’t know if I’d say I love this song, but I’ll support it with a good solid “I like this one.”
5. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet – I guess I’ll mention finally that this CD plays, track by track, like a real live album. It’s something I think a lot of today’s artists forget about, and something I really love—but, unlike Cartel's Chroma, who also create albums like that, these songs also stand on their own—no song ends as the beginning to the next song. This one has some solid horns in the chorus and sounds so Broadway it kills me. If I listen to this with my eyes closed, I find myself choreographing this number. This show is going to sell out for at least the first year it’s open. *Cough* What? Get back to reviewing? Right.
6. The (Shipped) Gold Standard – this was the first song that caught my attention when I was just idly playing this as background music. The chorus has heartbreaking harmony and lyrics like “I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs/but I'm afraid that someone else will hear me/you can only blame your problems on the world for so long/before it all becomes the same old song”? This one has the potential to be a favorite.
7. (Coffee's For Closers) – Starts off strong with pounding drums and dramatic strings. Stump’s voice gets a great showcase with this one; the “throw your cameras in the air/and wave ‘em like you just don’t care” line will get a huge response at any concert, I’m sure. The drums in this one are very military band (know what I mean?), and it’s a strong song with an anthem like feeling. Ends with a goofy little classical violin piece? I dig it.
8. What A Catch, Donnie – ...Wahlberg? ...Sorry. Another different sort of beginning—NOT classic FOB, just a piano and Patrick Stump singing. This part of the [end of the?] Broadway show will bring the audience to tears, I can feel it. This one is kind of a slow song—I’m racking my brain, but I can’t think of another FOB slow song, but I’m thinking they might want to cash in on this newfound talent again. Kind of an epic sounding chorus, too. And by the way? HOLY GUEST STARS, BATMAN! Elvis Costello? Gabe Saporta? Travis McCoy? William Beckett? People I’ve never heard of? Singing lines from former FOB hits? Be still my heart! File under: shit you wish you had thought of first.
9. 27 – What a way to follow such a nostalgic song! Any time an artist drops the f-bomb in a track, it makes my heart flutter a little bit for some inexplicable reason. This one probably also won’t be filed alongside my favorites, but it’s still a good one. Solid, classic FOB harmonies will always sit close to my heart. I have to kind of wonder if this is about somebody—and, if so, who? PS, where the fuck is the “I love you, Ashlee Simpson” track? C’mon, Pete. Get on that shit.
10. Tiffany Blews – This song has literally been playing for 2 seconds and I already know I love it. The first line, “I’m not a crybaby/I’m the crybaby” reminds me so much of my all-time favorite Jay-Z line (“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man”), only solidifying my suspicions. I can’t say enough good things about this song—just listen to the chorus. Genius. The vocals are inventive and awesome. The harmonies—yes, I’m bringing that up again—are awesome. The bridge? Awesome.
11. w.a.m.s. – The last minute or so of this track reminds me of Marc Broussard’s “Home,” which is probably my favorite of Broussard’s, but is not, by any stretch of the imagination, something I would categorize as a FOB song. The first three and a half minutes are VERY classic FOB, with the repetitive “well what makes you so special?” and the clever-as-ever chorus lead-in “my head's in heaven, my soles are in hell/let's meet in the purgatory of my hips and get well.” …Get it?
12. 20 Dollar Nose Bleed – This one starts off a little strange—what is Stump doing with his voice? Just call him Mr. Benzedrine…—but a few seconds in, I can tell I’m going to like this one a lot. Not sure if it’s a sing-along fist-pumper, but it’s definitely going in the musical. Seriously—would somebody please write this already?? Weird little spoken-word thing at the end, but causes it to flow REALLY nicely into the last track on the album. Side note? The horns in this song (around the 3:18 – 3:37 mark) totally rock my world. Yes, please.
13. West Coast Smoker – When Andrew McMahon started up his untitled project—later to be called Jacks Mannequin (and later to have an apostrophe, which I will almost never honor, added to the name)—my bff Bethany got me to listen to the first song he released, Holiday from Real, by telling me that he swore during the chorus. “Oh hell yes/I’m a nervous wreck” isn’t as extreme as “fuck yeah we can live like this,” but it still gets me going. The religious allusions (“knock once for the father/twice for the son/three times for the holy ghost”) are awesome and clever. Just a solid, solid final track.
Well, there you go! My musings on the new (ish) FOB record. What do you think?
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