Fall Out Boy

Today, I got the opportunity to sit down and fully listen to Fall Out Boy’s newest album, Infinity on High, over and over again. After their last album, From Under the Cork Tree, was one of my favorite albums of 2005, I had very high expectations when I first popped in the CD and started listening to this follow-up. The end result…wow.

And I say “wow” in a good way. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a really good CD that I know will be a top contender for “Album of The Year” for the next year’s Bagel Awards, and the first or second quarter of each year really brings out the best in music. I think its safe to say that this album will definitely be a good choice to win the 2008 Bagel Award for Best Album. We’ll see. Enough about that, let’s talk about the album itself.

If you remember pretty much any of Fall Out Boy’s albums, you know that some of the song titles are completely different from the words that are actually in the song. For Infinity on High, they did the same exact thing, though, this time, they tend to be quite different. The song I’m like a Lawyer With the Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You) actually has nothing to do with lawyers or anything to that extent. The song is one of my personal favorites on the album, mainly because it tells a story that was awfully familiar to me and my life.

If you also remember how quirky some of the songs were, the same thing is going to apply with Infinity on High. The opening track, Thriller, had some pretty catchy lyrics. The album’s first single, This Ain’t A Scene, It’s an Arms Race has been playing on the radio for quite some time now, and has its video out already, and I can’t get enough of the song. It’s got the same quirkiness that I first saw in Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down back in their last album. The songs on this album are very upbeat, yet weirdly written-and that’s perfectly okay with us.

The album has fourteen tracks, which is enough to keep everyone occupied until 2009, when I would personally expect the band to release their next big album. There’s a couple of slower songs, which is always good to have, yet, it just seemed very different to have them on a Fall Out Boy CD. I kinda hope Thriller is the next single, or I’m Like A Lawyer With the Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You). Both of the songs seem like they would be different for the band to release as a single, and I think its about time that the band adds a little bit more diversity to their mix of videos and singles.

Do I love this album? Yes. Do I think its going to go platinum? Yes. Will I be hearing this one for many months to come? Yes. Fall Out Boy’s Infinity on High is exactly what I needed around this time of year, when I’m basically getting bored with the lack of music that’s coming out. I give the album a stunning 9.7/10.