Fall Out Boy
's 2003 LP stacked sarcasm, wronged romance, and hardcore-derived passion on the head of a
punk-pop
pin.
Take This to Your Grave
was urgent at every turn, and though it fit the conventions of its genre, it was bolder and more memorable than the average release on
Kung Fu
or
Drive-Thru
. The kids responded --
were fast favorites of the online social networks (MySpace), and an endless tour schedule solidified their rep. With 2005's
From Under the Cork Tree
, the band fully delivers on their first full-length's promise. Sure, it nods a little more to the standard dynamics and production tweaks of
pop-punk
and
emo
in the mid-2000s --
Cork Tree
was produced by
Neal Avron
, who's worked with
A New Found Glory
. But in many more ways it's the same album as
Grave
, a youth-intense blast of pop culture reference,
hyperactivity, and the feeling that we'll never understand life until
Patrick Stump
Pete Wentz
tells us about it. And we believe them.
Stump
is
's vocalist and guitarist,
Wentz
its bassist and lyricist.
' verbiage can be lengthy --
"I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me,"
one title goes -- but he has an innate ability to simultaneously acknowledge and deconstruct the mushy
soliloquy. Temper that with a road-hardened cynicism about band life, superficial love, and the adventure of signing a record contract, and you have lyrics with a point beyond simply acting up or getting sentimental.
"Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for my Sham Friends"
is blunt. "Yeah we're friends,"
says, "Just because we move units." But the album also has a current of longing to it, of missing regular life, regular relationships. Musically,
's first five tracks are relentless, with razor-sharp melodies that seem familiar but sound totally unique at the same time. The "Oh! Oh!"s and punchy chords of
"Of All the Gin Joints in All the World"
are a thrill greater than any
Jimmy Eat World
album ever;
"Sugar, We're Goin Down"
's half-time shifts are triumphs of tumbling words; and the opening track meditates wryly on all-ages shows' fame. Further, when
rip into
"Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year,"
summer 2005 will not be able to ignore them. "We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need," they sing. It's obviously time to embrace our inner mall kid. ~ Johnny Loftus