Released Feb. 6 by Island Records.
For those of you who have never heard of Fall Out Boy, I'd have to ask - where have you been? Joining the ranks of other overly commercialized bands such as My Chemical Romance, Switchfoot, and The Fray, the guys of Fall Out Boy (or rather, their management and record label) have successfully introduced their "catchy" tunes to every musical outlet in America possible.
Remember the hit song "Dance, Dance" from their last album From Under The Cork Tree (2005)? It was my shadow for at least three months. Consider this: I woke up one morning only to hear my roommate rocking out the tune from his computer. That some morning,I heard the song on three different radio stations on the drive to school. A girl behind me in my accounting class was singing the song with her friend. During the drive home, I heard the song three more times on two different stations. That night, I went to a basketball game and heard the song played during several time-out breaks. When I finally walked in my front door and turned on the TV, I was astonished to see the music video for the very song that, by this point, had strongly discouraged me from ever dancing again.
Considering that last year was slow for record sales, the executives at Island Records are looking for a huge turnaround in 2007-hence this newest release from Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High. Unfortunately for us, in today's industry soaring album sales typically do not reflect quality music, and that trend has not changed here. Perhaps I should step back and acknowledge that there are some solid tracks on this album, notably "Thriller," "The Take Over, The Break Over," and "Hum Hallelujah."
In fact, everything signaturely "Fall Out Boy" is present here-tense harmonies, choppy guitar/drum rhythms, and that pop punk sound that everyone's 13-year-old sister is sure to get into. But in its entirety, Infinity On High falls low as just another inconsistent album from the puppet figureheads of Fall Out Boy.
2 1/2 Stars
This article was written by Matthew Reynolds, writer and CD reviewer for the Belmont Vision and freelance writer for The Tennessean. See his personal blog here for more music reviews.
