Fall Out Boy’s new album, American Beauty/American Psycho was released to great anticipation. With seven albums and multiple awards to live up to and a mixed crowd of old and new fans, hopes were high to hear the new record.
With multiple songs reaching radio stations and the album briefly reaching number one on the iTunes charts, the new record was certainly a crowd pleasure. Which crowd, however, I am not sure.
Fall Out Boy used to have an incredibly unique sound with original riffs and lyrics. This new album continues their streak of commercialized songs that sounds like every other pop hit. Multiple samples from other songs are incorporated into the main beat. This form of imitation is a cheap move for such a great band.
The most recognizable track, “Centuries”, was a fantastic song with a few of Fall Out Boy’s unique witty lyrics as well as their new ability to create infuriatingly catchy tunes. It was a great song, that is until the radio stations played it daily for weeks and it became the bane of my morning commute.
The second sweetheart of radio stations from this album is the song “Uma Thurman”. The first thing that is apparent is the repetition of the song title. The title is repeated and nine times and the song still manages to continue with is simple repetitive chorus.
In comparison to their classic song, “I’ve Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)”, all the song titles of this album are surprisingly short. In addition, it was rare to hear the name of the song in the song lyrics in the majority of Fall Out Boy songs in their good old days. Now, we are reminded of the song title multiple times in every track on this record.
Fans of the old Fall Out Boy will likely only enjoy “Irresistible”, “Fourth of July”, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, and “American Beauty/American Psycho”. Many songs are forgettable, with monotonous lyrics and a cliché beat. “Immortals” is a great song at the beginning, but it is the kind of song that I can only replay twice before it gets old.
The whole album has a similar nature. Here and there are shadows of the Fall Out Boy I grew up with, and everywhere else is an album enjoyed for a week and then forgotten.
