Fall Out Boy – Infinity On High
Fall Out Boy are an American Pop Punk band hailing from the suburbs of Chicago. Consisting of four members, the band have been going since 2002 and have in this time released three albums and an eight track mini-album. Currently residing on Island Records, their home since 2003 – ‘Infinity On High’ is the bands third album and saw a commercial release back in the February of 2007. Featuring fourteen tracks (15 including the UK Bonus Track), ‘Infinity On High’ is arguably Fall Out Boy’s finest album to date.
I have always had somewhat of a soft spot for Pop Punk, and as such the music of Fall Out Boy is perfect for my liking. It is fantastically fun pop music which is excellent to dance to, and with the exception of a few – the tracks on display on this album are meticulously well created and crafted. Opening with ‘Thriller’, the album instantly grabs you and garners your full undivided attention. A perfect opening anthem, ‘Thriller’ features a spoken intro and outro by the American rapper Jay-Z. In addition to this, the track was produced by Jay-Z and Babyface also; two of the finest faces of Hip-Hop and R&B accordingly. Although this is by no means the strongest track on the album, it is still a decent opening and when listening to the album for the first time it leaves you hotly anticipating what the band will have in store for you as the listening experience continues.
From ‘Thriller’, the band progress into the track ‘The Take Over, The Breaks Over’ which was chosen as the third single to be released from the album. With track number two the band continue to impress, and ‘The Take Over, The Breaks Over’ is without a doubt a fine track with a chorus of epic excellence. At this early stage in the album the best is yet to come however, and the first real moment of glory comes in next track ‘This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race’, the album’s lead single. When I first heard this track before the album was released, I wondered how any other track on the album could possibly compete – it’s perhaps one of my favourite Fall Out Boy tracks of all time and will no doubt put a smile on the face of anyone who has ever before enjoyed a song of theirs in the past. ‘This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race’ has everything that you could possibly ask for in a Fall Out Boy track – it’s fast, it’s fun, and best of all it’s fantastically catchy with a chorus which is bigger and better than you will ever have heard the band before. At a mere three tracks into a fifteen track album, you begin to feel that the band have perhaps peaked to soon, and therefore from here on in it could all be a downhill trek. Fortunately this is not to be, and as the album carries on the band continue to flourish.
For me, it is ‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs’ which provides the album with its crowning glory. At the album’s centre point, ‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs’ is probably one of my favourite tracks of all time, let alone my favourite by Fall Out Boy. There is just something about this one which captured my imagination right from the very first time I listened to it. Over the months, this has become my most played track by far and yet still I fail to tire of it and instead my love for the track continues to grow. Produced by Babyface the track is at no point tiresome, and despite the squeaky clean production possesses an unexplainable rawness about it. The guitars are excellent, the vocal harmonies verge upon perfection, and the drumbeats are colossally crushing. To summarise; ‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs’ is without a shadow of a doubt a track which I would recommend to everybody out there.
When I think of the ‘Infinity On High’ album, one of the first tracks which will spring to mind every time is ‘Hum Hallelujah’. This is a track of which the lyrical content is reportedly about Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz attempted suicide whilst listening to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. The track samples the aforementioned Leonard Cohen track in it’s four minute duration, and is a beautifully written piece of music which provides for a soothingly satisfying listening experience. It is unlike anything Fall Out Boy have ever attempted before and I commend the band for their efforts here as in my opinion they have pulled it off with a high degree of style and flair. It is always nice to see when bands attempt something a little bit different, and when they manage to pull it off as has been done here then the result is always a joy to behold.
Whilst ‘Hum Hallelujah’ is a prime example of Fall Out Boy trying out new things and pulling it off; trying things out can ultimately backfire which was the case with ‘Golden’. I have never been able to listen to this album track without feeling completely empty inside, free of the pleasure I usually enjoy when I listen to the music of Fall Out Boy. The track is a slow and unenjoyable effort in which the band meander their way through two and a half minutes of a poorly put together filler track. I literally have nothing positive to say about this track and feel that it need not have been included on the album as my belief is that this track detracts from the overall exceptional quality of the album.
A common theme amongst recording artists in recent years has been to include a ‘Bonus Track’ or two when releasing an album. A few years ago it was not uncommon that a band would release their album one month only to follow it up a couple of months later with a ‘Special Edition’ release which would generally include a couple of bonus tracks much to the frustration of those that bought the album on the day of release. Thankfully, bonus tracks tend to be included at launch now and this album was no different including that of ‘G.I.N.a.S.F.S’, which for all those interested is a synonym for ‘Gay is Not a Synonym for Shitty’. Whilst bonus tracks can at times come across as somewhat of an afterthought of which you’d perhaps rather have done without; ‘G.I.N.a.S.F.S’ certainly doesn’t come in to this category and is in fact a track just as good as many of the other album tracks present. It is a fun track which opens with a strong guitar riff, possesses a lethal chorus, and will have you singing along in no time. It is oddly perhaps another favourite of mine from the album and could I believe be released commercially as a successful single.
With all tracks other than one on the album having impressed me to varying degrees, I would have to say that all in all the ‘Infinity On High’ album from Fall Out Boy is an overwhelming success. There are a high number of stand out tracks here present, and they certainly provide in my opinion for Fall Out Boy’s finest album to date. Fall Out Boy’s ‘Infinity On High’ has been one of my favourite albums of 2007, and I for one can not wait for the band to haul themselves back in to the recording studio to provide us with album number four. If the band can improve upon what they have come up with here then I will be shocked as ‘Infinity On High’ truly is an amazing album which I feel I will certainly be continuing to play for some years to come. It is hard to listen to the music of Fall Out Boy without allowing for a smile to seep across your face, and whilst there will undoubtedly be those out there that will not find this album enjoyable – I myself found Fall Out Boy’s latest album offering extremely impressive and highly enjoyable.
Label: Island Records
Release Date: 5th February 2007
Rating:
Razorlight – Razorlight
Razorlight were formed as a band in 2002 by the singer-songwriter Johnny Borrell – a man who was reportedly a stand-in bassist for The Libertines for a short space of time during their early days before getting signed. Notoriously arrogant, Johnny Borrell is a man who is hated by many as in fact is this second album from the band. When released in July 2006, this self-titled second album was greeted with a mixed reception from the critics; even being nominated in the Worst Album category at the 2007 NME Awards as voted by the readers. Although their magazine writer clearly enjoyed it having rated the album an 8 out of 10, apparently this enthusiasm was not shared by the readers and to be honest that is entirely understandable.
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the first album from the band, particularly the single ‘Golden Touch’ – I can’t say that I share the same enthusiasm for their second album, and in fact at times found it to be entirely tiresome. Sure, there are a few tracks that do stand out and are enjoyable, but for the most part the album is unmemorable and in fact quite dreary and depressing. Even when the album is good, it’s not quite great with the dreary factor ever present in each of the album’s ten tracks. ‘In The Morning’ gives the album a promising opener, however next track ‘Who Needs Love’ is really rather dull. On the subject of ‘In The Morning’ however, this track encapsulates everything that I love about the band; it is lively, energetic, and exciting. A joy to listen to, ‘In The Morning’ could not have possibly provided the album with a better opener, however the fact that it is perhaps the album’s finest moment is quite a depressing prospect.
Although ‘Hold On’ is a semi-satisfying track, it is not until we reach ‘America’ that we are again treated to a bit of class and excitement. I absolutely love this track and often find myself singing along as I listen to it. With a strong chorus and exactly the kind of drum beat that I love – ‘America’ contains the perfect formula for a decent track and certainly does not disappoint. ‘Before I Fall to Pieces’ is likewise a quality offering from the band, and is exactly the kind of music which Razorlight should be writing every time. Forget the fillers lads, concentrate on more tracks like this and perhaps next time the critics wont slam you quite so hard. A joy to listen to, ‘Before I Fall to Pieces’ is one you can listen to over and over without ever really tiring of. There is a feel good factor about the track which gives it an addictive quality, so one listen is never quite enough. If only the same could be said of the album as a whole.
‘Pop Song 2006′ is again undeniably a top quality track, another which will get you in the mood for singing and dancing. It is a confusing one that a band that can at times get their guitar riffs so perfect can at times get them so wrong. ‘Pop Song 2006′ hits all the right notes for me, and although it does seem to drag a bit towards the end I would still consider it to be one of the albums finer points. Other than this I think that I am pretty much empty handed for positive things to say about this album other than the strength which the band show in penultimate track ‘Back To The Start’. It is not the wordiest of tracks, but I find it to be strangely enjoyable a song – one I find myself listening to an awful lot in fact.
Being a drummer I find that with some bands, their drumming draws me to them more so than any other aspect of the music can. Razorlight are a prime example of one of those bands, and I find their drumming style to be oddly hypnotic. It is not massively technical, but there is just something oddly drawing about it which ropes me in every time, even when the rest of the track falls flat on its face. I have always felt this way about the drumming style of Razorlight, and in fact on their first album there was a DVD included featuring live renditions of a number of the album’s best tracks which I thoroughly enjoyed for watching the drummer do his thing live in action. So, even when the album seemingly only consists of fillers (around 50% of the time I would say) there is still some enjoyment to be gained from the listening experience.
The self-titled second album from Razorlight is a hard one to sum up. It’s an album of two halves it would seem; one half filler, one half killer. It’s not that simple however as the divide is not clear cut and in order to get to the stronger tracks you will have to trudge through the inferior tracks in the process. Whilst I would recommend this album in part in that there are some decent tracks on display here and the drumming is of an excellent standard, I would also discourage listening to this album at the same time as it is half bad after all. Whilst Razorlight’s début album was fresh and exciting, their second shows signs of the band going stale and this is really rather sad to see. ‘Razorlight’ as an album had great potential, however it would seem that it has failed to show the best in the band and is therefore somewhat of a disappointment.
Label: Mercury Music
Release Date: 17th July 2006
Rating:
Maroon 5 – Won’t Go Home Without You
Maroon 5 are perhaps the weakest band in ‘rock’ music right now. Their sound is about as hardcore as a Barbie doll in a pink suit, and for what their stage presence is worth they may as well be cardboard cut-outs. It will come as no surprise then that ‘Won’t Go Home Without You’ is a supremely weak single from the band which failed to impress me on any level. Every time I hear this single I just seem to despise it even more, from the irritating vocals right down to the infuriatingly plodding pace of the drum beat; everything about this track is entirely loathsome. Before releasing their album ‘It Won’t Be Soon Before Long’, it had been three years since we had heard from the band and I was hoping their extended hiatus would have meant the end of Maroon 5; unfortunately there was no such luck and the band are still about and their music still as irritating as ever.
Rating:
Kaiser Chiefs – Love’s Not A Competition
When Kaiser Chiefs burst onto the UK music scene back in 2005 I found their music intriguing and the band themselves energetic and exciting. Their début album pleased me massively and was perhaps one of my favourite albums of 2005, most certainly the best début album I’d heard in a long while. Fast-forward to 2007 and the Kaiser Chiefs are onto album number two, only now without the flair and energy that made them so successful when they first emerged. Their sophomore effort ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob’ I found to be a huge disappointment, and whilst listening found myself drifting off all too easily. ‘Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning)’ was the fourth single to be lifted from the bands second album and is an ‘interesting’ one to say the least. With keyboards throughout likening the sound to that of Coldplay, the music of Kaiser Chiefs is here completely empty and devoid of any real sense of life. Whilst the chorus is catchy enough and will no doubt have you singing along as was always the case with their tracks, there just seems to be something missing here and the track therefore never really gets going. Whilst Kaiser Chiefs once possessed a great deal of energy, their music now embodies nothing more than complete emptiness.
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The Proclaimers – Whole Wide World
‘Whole Wide World’ is the best track from The Proclaimers most recent album ‘Life With You’. The thing I find most amusing about this fact is that ‘Whole Wide World’ is in fact a cover of a Wreckless Eric track, and aside from this one track I have nothing positive to say about the bands album whatsoever. Credit where credit’s due though; The Proclaimers have done a good job of covering this track and despite just how much the vocals of The Proclaimers do grate on me, I must concede that I do actually quite like this one and have listened to it quite a number of times. Whilst The Proclaimers will not be everyone’s cup of tea and are in fact not mine either, there is no denying that this is a well produced and well constructed cover of a track which is now more than thirty years old.
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