Rich

‘Save Rock and Roll‘ is the fifth Fall Out Boy studio album to date, once again demonstrating the band’s ability to progress and mature with each and every studio release. After a four year hiatus, Fall Out Boy is back, and the band has clearly been listening to a lot of different music these last few years as there are so many different styles showcased on this album that it’s difficult to really pigeonhole the album into a specific genre; from dubstep to folk, and also with a good helping of the pop-punk that the band is known for, ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ is a studio album that absolutely has it all, and the fact that it is so difficult to categorise due to the band’s genre defying approach really is a key strength of the album.

Beginning with ‘The Phoenix‘, the brilliance of this release instantly hits you as the band launches through one of its catchiest singles to date. Patrick Stump’s vocals sound better than ever on this album, and this is one of the first things that you notice here, right from the first track. ‘The Phoenix‘ has a huge chorus and is perhaps one of the band’s very best; the string section in the intro has a hint of Plan B’s ‘Ill Manors‘, the track as a whole is unmistakably Fall Out Boy however, with Patrick Stump absolutely stealing the show with his absolutely breathtaking vocal tone. As the band continues into second track ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)‘, the album continues to impress massively as the vocals of Patrick Stump maintain the incredibly high standard that is set with the first track. Pete Wentz provides an incredible driving bassline with ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)‘ which certainly contributes to the track’s success, it’s the voice of Patrick Stump that really grabs you though, and the chorus in particular is just absolutely sensational.

After another impressive track in the form of ‘Alone Together‘, Fall Out Boy provides what is perhaps the most addictive song from the album in ‘Where Did The Party Go‘, a track that has every bit as much pop appeal as ‘Dance, Dance‘ had, and every possibility of being another top 10 smash for the band. It’s one of those tracks where right from the first time you listen to it you know you’re hearing something rather special, and it just seems to get better with each and every listen. I can absolutely picture a sold out room of Fall Out Boy fans dancing along to ‘Where Did The Party Go‘ on an evening, singing along to each and every word that Patrick Stump belts out, and doing so with a great big smile on their faces. ‘Where Did The Party Go‘ is sure to be a huge crowd pleaser, and I can absolutely see this track being released as a single at some point in the not too distant future.

As ‘Just One Yesterday‘ begins, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Adele’s hugely successful ‘Rolling in the Deep‘ single; there are definite similarities between the two tracks, particularly in the way in which they build in their respective introductions, at around 37 seconds into the track as Patrick Stump hits the key change however, ‘Just One Yesterday‘ begins to burst into life as its own piece of music, impressive in its own way, and definitely very distinguishably different from its ‘Rolling in the Deep‘ style intro. The way that Foxes’ voice combines with Patrick Stump’s is absolutely incredible here, the two voices really do work well alongside each other, and the track progresses extremely impressively.

For me, the sixth track on the album, ‘The Mighty Fall‘, has a bit of a Travis Barker vibe about it; the drumming style of Andy Hurley is definitely reminiscent of the Blink-182 drummer’s style here, and the decision to collaborate with Big Sean on the track therefore makes ‘The Mighty Fall‘ feel a lot like something that might appear on a Travis Barker solo release. ‘Miss Missing You‘ provides something different again with a fantastic keyboard presence in the track, and once more here Fall Out Boy demonstrates its ability as a band to provide a great variety of different sounds, with each and every track on this album coming across as brilliant in its own individual way.

‘Death Valley‘ is a particularly interesting track from the album, and is a song that just seems to have it all. The chorus to the track is absolutely phenomenal, Andy Hurley’s drumming is once again absolutely brilliant, and the track even comes complete with an unexpected dubstep breakdown. The dubstep section of the track is definitely something that takes you by surprise; after a supreme bit of vocal ability from Patrick Stump, the dubstep bass wobble and drumbeat kicks in, and for about 10 seconds here we’re treated to Fall Out Boy’s take on dubstep. The vocal melody is absolutely beautiful, you want to sing along to the track every time you listen, and the unexpected nature of the dubstep element really does work well. The track is surprising in terms of what it throws at you, but it’s surprising in a good way; the dubstep drop is not something that you’d ever expect to hear in a Fall Out Boy song, but demonstrates that the band is not afraid of dabbling into a little bit of everything on this album, and I personally feel that this is the secret to the ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ studio album’s huge success; there’s a lot of variety on display here, and this is something that provides for a great deal of replay value. You finish listening to the ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ album and you immediately want to go back and listen to it all again. There’s not a single bad track present on this album, and variety is absolutely the spice of life here.

‘Young Volcanoes‘ is the third track that Fall Out Boy unveiled from the ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ studio album, and is also the third to last track on the album, a poppy-folk anthem from the band which furthers the borderless nature of the album. As the band jumps from genre to genre throughout this album, you never know quite where they’ll be going next, and ‘Young Volcanoes‘ is for me another absolute highlight of this release. Again, this is not a track that you’d necessarily expect to hear from Fall Out Boy, it’s nonetheless a sound that they do incredibly proud however, and once again Patrick Stump’s vocals are absolutely sublime. There’s a very uplifting guitar presence about the track, it’s another real singalong number from the album, and a track that’ll no doubt put a smile on the face of many. It’s a softer sound than what you’d expect from a Fall Out Boy single, an absolutely brilliant piece of music though, and a track that really does have a lot to love about it.

Courtney Love features on penultimate track ‘Rat A Tat‘ as Pete Wentz provides another pounding bass line and the track’s simple yet effective chorus packs a mighty punch, with final track ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ the band perhaps saves the best until last however, providing a collaboration with the world renowned Elton John. Just when you think the album can’t possibly top what it has already provided for you, Fall Out Boy somehow steps it up a gear with ‘Save Rock and Roll‘, a track which provides a fantastic piano presence absolutely perfect for a collaboration with Elton John, and an absolutely phenomenal vocal duet between Patrick Stump and Elton John. Both Patrick Stump and Elton John sound incredible on this final track on the album; their voices work sublimely together, and the first time I listened to the track it did in fact quite literally give me goosebumps. The band finishes off the album in absolute style with this Elton John collaboration, it’s a fittingly perfect title track for an absolutely mindblowingly brilliant album, and ends the release on a real high note. The lyrics are incredible, the vocals simply sublime, and everything about the track just provides for an absolutely perfect closing number. ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ is a track that surely has to be released as a single at some point, not just for its featuring a huge worldwide star in the form of Elton John, but for its absolute beauty as a piece of art. The presence of Elton John is not what makes this track, but it is what completes this track. Fall Out Boy demonstrates a fantastic talent for writing incredibly catchy and impressive music with the first ten tracks on this album, the final track of this release ensures that the band goes out with a bang however, and provides one final fantastic moment just when you think that the best of the album has surely already been and gone.

‘Save Rock and Roll‘ is, without doubt, the best studio album I’ve heard in 2013, and I really can’t see anyone releasing an album later this year that I’ll love more than this one. ‘Save Rock and Roll‘ is perhaps the best studio album Fall Out Boy has ever written as a band, and the band has returned from hiatus in absolute style by putting out an album of such incredible quality. Fall Out Boy is back and ready to take over, as finally the break’s over.

Rating
[Rating:5/5]