After a period of indulging in the glamorous yet prosthetic Los Angeles lifestyle, Pete Wentz and his band mates return, with their ridiculously long song titles, to wow fans with their third album ‘Infinity on High’.
The Chicago-based foursome’s 14-track album is influenced by a wide range of genres. ‘I’ve Got All This Ringing In My Ears and None On My Fingers’ features swing dance and jazz influenced guitar riffs, and Joe Trohman shows off his musical prowess during a Spanish guitar solo on ‘Thnks fr th Mmrs’.
‘The Take Over, The Break’s Over’, one of the strongest tracks, gives an insight into Wentz’s new-found celebrity lifestyle (“I’m boring but overcompensate with headlines and flash, flash, flash photography”) and his opinions of Fall Out Boy’s critics (“People will dissect us until this doesn’t mean a thing anymore”).
‘You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave’ is very much a political track. It sees Wentz develop as a lyricist by moving away from writing lyrics from his own perspective. He was clearly influenced by his protégées, Panic! At The Disco, after seeing how successful they were in 2006. Coincidentally, ‘You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave’ features vocals from Panic! At The Disco’s guitarist and lyricist, Ryan Ross.
‘Hum Hallelujah’ documents the night Wentz, who suffers from depression, tried to commit suicide. “A teenage vow in a parking lot, till tonight do us part, I’ll sing the blues, and swallow them too.” It is one of the most personal, emotional and insightful songs Wentz has ever written for release. The track samples Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’, the song Wentz was listening to when he overdosed on anti-depressants.
The heaviest track on the album, ‘The Carpal Tunnel of Love’, is a classic Fall Out Boy track, featuring Wentz screaming bizarre lyrics such as “it was ice cream headaches and sweet avalanche when the pearls in our shells came out to dance”.
‘Thnks fr th Mmrs’ is another strong track. It begins with a string introduction that would not sound out of place in Tim Burton’s classic film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. With a huge poppy sing-along chorus, this is sure to be a popular live track.
While ‘From Under the Cork Tree’ cemented their success and breakthrough into the rock scene, ‘Infinity on High’ will cement their success in the mainstream music market. Not a Fall Out Boy fan? You will be after hearing this album.
