Fall Out Boy doesn't "Save Rock and Roll"

Whether you loathe them or love them, there’s no denying Fall Out Boy’s influence on rock music. During pop punk’s mainstream takeover in the mid-2000s, there was no Warped Tour act with as much publicity and success as Fall Out Boy: five top-20 singles,  a No. 1 album and a Jay-Z feature solidified them as one of the most talked-about bands of the decade.

Newly released “Save Rock and Roll” marks the band’s first record since their self-imposed hiatus in 2009 and will likely please diehard fans, but its eclectic nature and overly poppy songwriting may turn off casual listeners.

First of all, Patrick Stump has never sounded better vocally. He has always been the glue that holds together Fall Out Boy’s songs, and his soulful croon remains the true highlight of the group’s recordings. Structurally, most of these songs are a change from the typical pop punk structure Fall Out Boy is known for, but make no mistake, this is essentially a pop rock album with choruses that are destined for Top 40 radio alongside Neon Trees and Fun.

The album leads off with two of its most promising offerings — the album’s first two singles, “The Phoenix” and “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark.” The prior features a thundering kick drum pulse and a call to “put on your war paint,” while the latter features a hip-hop swagger before detouring into a cheesy, over-the-top chorus. “My Songs Know” isn’t a complete train wreck, but like many songs on this album, it features one or two annoying passages that seem to be trying a little too hard to be catchy.

The album’s biggest development is the band’s transition into more dance-ready tracks. “Alone Together” features synthesizer parts and a chorus line that could pass for a Passion Pit B-side, while “Where Did the Party Go” features one of Pete Wentz’s grooviest basslines and sounds as if Dr. Luke (producer of hit Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Ke$ha songs) had a hand in its production. Later on in the record, album standout “Death Valley” features Fall Out Boy at their rockiest, until a dubstep-sounding “bass drop” intrudes mid-song.

Another example of this poor taste pops up on “Just One Yesterday,” which inexplicably begins exactly like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”  While the song bounces away from the Adele melody, it ends up being one of the album’s most forgettable moments.

However, there are a few unforgivable risks on this album that are laughably embarrassing. “The Mighty Fall” features Big Sean at his absolute corniest but is almost outdone by the song’s completely phoned-in chest-beating chorus. Courtney Love questionably shows up on “Rat-a-Tat,” and the song’s shout-along chorus is formulaic and predictable. Meanwhile, “Young Volcanoes” finds Fall Out Boy cashing in on the recent success of acoustic pop hits and sounds like a combination of Fun. and Train’s recent hits. The only guest that really works is Elton John on the album’s title track, which proves to be one of Fall Out Boy’s best ballads.

Pete Wentz’s lyrics continue to be hit-or-miss and straddle the line of the nonsensical, but there are lines throughout that deserve some attention: “You are what you love, not who loves you” is a great allusion to Charlie Kaufman’s 2002 film “Adaptation” on the title track, and “the person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger” is just too witty to hate in “Miss Missing You.”

“Save Rock and Roll” is nearly as cheesy as its name implies, but it provides a brief sugar-rush of infectious melodies. In many ways, this is a more successful comeback than Blink 182’s return last year.

“Save Rock and Roll” is sure to please Fall Out Boy’s diehard fans and provide pop radio with plenty of material this summer, even if its failed guest appearances and simple pop songwriting make it an easy target for critical backlash.

By Bronson DeLeon