Fall Out Boy, Save Rock and Roll: Album Review

Fall Out Boy is an admitted guilty pleasure of mine and I’ll, ahem, admit that I was more than a little excited with the announcement that they were not only back together but almost ready to unleash their fifth album, Save Rock and Roll. Well, after some album teases in the forms of singles “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” and “The Phoenix” fans finally have in hand what they have been waiting what seemed like five very long years (But only four since the hiatus was announced). But is it worth it? If you’re a Fall Out Boy fan from the beginning then maybe not but if you came on board towards the end and followed Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz’s respective solo ventures (And maybe a little bit of Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley’s joint work in The Damned Things thrown in there) then you’re gonna be very, very happy.

This is the album that Stump and Wentz have been trying to make for years and featuring enough hand claps and expansive sing-a-long choruses to fill the entire FOB back catalog. It’s bold and over-the-top in a way that the band hasn’t been before. If the polarizing first single “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” didn’t give you an idea of the direction of Save Rock and Roll then you are going to be sorely disappointed here my friend. The R&B and funk is turned up a few notches as well here as the lovely “Alone Together” has moments not unlike some of the more recent NKOTB recordings while “Where Did The Party Go” is (Brace for it, Big Money!) 21st Century Duran Duran as Pete Wentz goes so far as to channel John Taylor with his bass stylings.

The other thing that’s so appealing on SRaR is the consistency throughout the entire album. Songs like the soulful “Just On Yesterday” gels nicely with the New Wave by way of The Bravery “Miss Missing You” which in turn segues fabulously into the foot stompin’ “Death Valley” featuring some sexy falsetto by Stump. Even the oddballs like the Courtney Love led “Rat a Tat” and the hip-hop infused “The Mighty Fall” (Featuring Big Sean and one of the biggest “Whoah-oh-oh” choruses FOB has ever done) work perfectly in here. And let’s not forget the true comeback kid, Sir Elton John (Who also guests on the new QOTSA record in June), adding some old school decadence to the closing title track.

Save Rock and Roll is out now and in case you didn’t already know, Fall Out Boy is indeed back.

Grade: A