minorthreat78's Full Review: Take This to Your Grave by Fall Out Boy
Few sub-strata of genre are as prone to mocking as the quirky hybrid of pop-punk and emo popularized by artists like Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday. The combination of bouncy beats, nihilistic lyrics and radio-friendly mediocrity are ready-made for mockery; one needs only to mention bands like this to get a hardcore punk fan mocking. Yes, they are derivative; yes, they are silly; yes, they are influences upon Blink 182, forgiveable though that may be or not.
But, there is still Fall Out Boy.
Obsessed with death in their lyrics, hum-drum in their musical arrangements, and generally unimpressive in their delivery, the mix of pop-punk and emo te3nds to make for mediocre music.
But, there is still Fall Out Boy.
Fall Out Boy is, at first blush, another of the generic pop-punk/emo bands that mix catchy hooks with conventional chord arrangements in order to produce non-threatening music. Surprisingly enough, though, the band has something unique that puts them above the tepid wasteland surrounding them.
They can actually write songs.
While the first track on the CD, "Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today", may not, by title alone, suggest that this band can offer more than, for instance, Story of the Year, the pop-filled sound merges with the hint of hardcore, giving the listener the dual concept of catchy hooks and hardcore fervor.
Even more clearly, this duality is intensified on "Dead on Arrival". Going past the death obsessed lyricism of emo, and past the lack of depth of pop-punk, Fall Out Boy offers us an intriguing passage in their chorus:
This is side one
Flip me over
I know you're not my favorite record
The songs you grow to like never stick at first
So I'm writing you a chorus, and here is your verse
If anything, they're better at writing a lyric than your average band.
Generally speaking, this is one of the most impressive pop-punk albums around, emo-themed or not. The band appreciates a good power chord, and lyrically, manages a depth beyond most bands. Lyrics like "I want to hate your half as much as I hate myself/ but you know I could crush you with my voice" has an oddly poetic tone to it, and the band exploits it effectively. Combined with the effective vocal delivery of Patrick Stump, those who listen can get a clear sense of why Island Records gave the band a substantial sum of money for a record deal.
Simply put, Fall Out Boy is a really, really good band, and has the sound and look to make it big. Unfettered by dictates of major-label execs, the band offers us, by way of Take This to Your Grave, a sample of how great this band could really be. While I can't accurately state how the band will be under the influence of major labels, this album alone could tell us how impressive the mix of pop-punk and emo can be. Fall Out Boy give us one genuinely great album in Take This to Your Grave, and I can only hope they can give us better in years to come.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.