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Review: Jack Foley
CHICAGO four-piece Fall Out Boy recently had the distinction
of being named by Rolling Stone as one of the '10 artists to watch'
of the year.
Listening to their second album, From Under The Cork Tree,
it's easy to see why. The band specializes in energetic, catchy
punk anthems that feel like a cross between early Green Day and
Sum-41.
They clearly have a sense of humour, too, littering their song
titles with grandiose titles, such as Our Lawyer Made Us Change
The Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued, and I
Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid
Song.
It makes a change to have someone willing to have some fun given
the amount of punk records that seem content to Bush-bash at the
moment.
Forthcoming lead single, Sugar, We're Going Down, is
a classic case in point; a lively and genuinely catchy punk workout
that will probably have you singing along to it after a couple
of listens.
The album has been produced by Neal Avron, who knows his way
around a good American rock outfit, having worked with the likes
of New Found Glory and Everclear in his day.
With Fall Out Boy he ensures that songs never outstay their welcome
and almost always contain something to like about them.
The bouncy love song, Dance, Dance, is another little
gem, packed with frenzied guitar riffs and another cracking chorus
that seems tailor-made to accompany the soundtrack of some teenage
coming-of-age comedy (in the American Pie/Road Trip tradition).
The only criticism is that Fall Out Boy appear, at this early
stage, to lack the finesse of a Green Day, who have that near-perfect
ability to offset catchy blasts of pop-punk joy (such as the recent
Holiday) with more thoughtful, heartfelt matter (such
as Good Riddance).
For those who are content to jump around the living room, however,
From Under The Cork Tree provides a lively workout with
some great vocals from singer, Patrick Stump.
Other highlights include Champagne for My Real Friends, Real
Pain for My Sham Friends (named after a toast delivered by
Edward Norton in the Spike Lee film, The
25th Hour), and the life-affirming anthem, Get Busy Livin'
or Get Busy Dyin'.
And in case you were wondering, the aforementioned Our Lawyer
Made Us Change The Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued
is a song about celebrity and the shallow nature of fame ('we're
only liars, but we're the best, we're only good for the latest
trends').
It's this self-deprecating sense of humour that makes listening
to the album such good fun.
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Track listing:
1. Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't
Get Sued
2. Of All the Gin Joints in All the World
3. Dance, Dance
4. Sugar, We're Goin Down
5. Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner
6. I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut
Your Mou
7. 7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)
8. Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year
9. Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends
10. I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This
Stupid Song
11. Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"
12. Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do You Part to Save the
Scene and St
13. Xo
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