Album Review: Fall Out Boy - 'Folie a Deux'

I love Fall Out Boy, however the first single from Folie a` Deux, the anthemic “I Don’t Care”, really threw me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, as all the signs had been pointing to the band concocting an all out pop extravaganza for some time… I guess I was secretly hoping the band would reconnect with their love of all things pogo and write Take This To Your Grave volume two. ANYWAY, once I’d acknowledged how silly I was being and just listened to the record for what it was (a fantastic collection of pop songs) I found myself thoroughly enjoying what was on offer. 

From start to finish, Folie a` Deux proves itself to be Fall Out Boy’s most accomplished release to date. Now, I’m not saying it’s my favourite of the band’s records (see the above mentioned obsession with their pop-punk leaning debut), yet the lush arrangements, top-notch production job and fluid songwriting that is on offer has ensured that the group’s fifteen minutes of fame will last a hell of a lot longer than the critics first expected… with or without Pete Wentz celebrity status. 

Opening salvo “Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes” picks up where the once Chicago based four-piece left off with Infinity On High, its easy on the ears introduction making way for an arena sized chorus that hasn’t been heard since, well, the last Fall Out Boy song I listened to, but you get what I’m saying. The aforementioned single “I Don’t Care” kicks in all the right places, so much so that my mother told me she enjoys the song (good work mum), while Patrick Stump’s vocal gymnastics have gone into overdrive on the incredibly catchy “She’s My Winona”.  

Picking the strongest tracks from an album that has more (soon to be) hits than a U2 “Best Of” was rather difficult, but you can’t go wrong with the soaring melodies of “America’s Suitehearts”, the horn-laden hooks of “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet” or “What A Catch, Donnie”, a song that has more celebrity guest vocalist than you can poke a stick at, including Brendon Urie (Panic At The Disco), Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) and the bespectacled Elvis Costello.

Quite simply, Fall Out Boy has delivered the pop record of 2008, one that hasn’t had to dumb down its songwriting to reach a wider audience, a remarkable feat when you consider just how appalling most of the music that infiltrates the charts is. Well-done gentleman. 

1. Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes
2. I Don’t Care
3. She’s My Winona
4. America’s Suitehearts
5. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet
6. The (Shipped) Gold Standard
7. (Coffees For Closers)
8. What A Catch, Donnie
9. 27
10. Tiffany Blews
11. W.A.M.S.
12. 20 Dollar Nose Bleed
13. West Coast Smoker