Sixteen seconds into Infinity on High, the fourth album from punk-pop heroes Fall Out Boy, there is a moment so surreal that a second and then third listen is required to verify its very existence. It is the sound of Jay-Z, hip-hop heavyweight and CEO of Def Jam Records, rapping.
At first, the moment seems too astonishing to be true. What is Jay-Z, former ghetto superstar and current axiom of cool, doing rapping about Fall Out Boy, the band who made themselves famous with a song like "Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over?" But as rap's biggest mogul closes Infinity's first track with a cry of "F.O.B., yo!" it becomes clear that first, he isn't kidding and second, Fall Out Boy has officially made it.
Jay-Z's appearance seems to signify that Infinity is not just an album, but also a declaration of success; and in many ways, it is. The disc is an epic culmination of the immense hype, drama and angst that has surrounded the Chicago band since its 2004 smash album, From Under the Cork Tree, which has saturated the group in equal parts fame and infamy. It is an exuberant and self-congratulatory celebration of the "emo" lifestyle, which has, for better or worse, infiltrated every home in America with access to the Internet and MTV. It is an impassioned look into the brilliantly twisted mind of Pete Wentz, the controversial F.O.B. bassist/lyricist and man responsible for bringing both male eyeliner and Panic! at the Disco to mainstream America.
Despite its social entanglements, however, Infinity also happens to be a remarkable album; it is an achievement of pop perfection, proving that Fall Out Boy is at the very top of its angst-ridden and pun-filled game.
Infinity doesn't stray far from the formula that has won the band legions of fans since its 2003 debut, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend. With healthy doses of biting sarcasm from Wentz and generous portions of delicious pop melodies from lead singer Patrick Stump, who writes the band's music, the album is an evolved version of a trusted pop recipe.
Though undeniably matured, many aspects of Fall Out Boy's music have remained the same since the band's early days of touring in vans and performing at dive bars. Die-hard fans will appreciate Infinity's long and characteristically corny song titles (example: "I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off") and the fact that Wentz hasn't lost the ability to turn a clever, smart-ass phrase. In fact, the trouble he has gotten himself into during the past year — including feuding publicly with rival bands and childhood friends, hooking up with certain Simpson sisters and "accidentally" leaking nude Sidekick photos of himself on the Internet — seems to have honed Wentz's lyrical sharpness. He manages to call himself out on everything he's done to make you hate his band ("They say I only think in the form of crunching numbers/ In hotel rooms, collecting Page Six lovers") while simultaneously calling you out for loving it anyway ("I'm boring but I overcompensate with headlines/ And flash photography/ Don't pretend you ever forgot about me").
In the midst of his self-obsession, however, Wentz seems to have lost his knack for writing poetry for an average life. Infinity features none of the caustic, post-breakup venom that made Fall Out Boy's early work so relatable. While juvenile, songs about getting dumped or cheated on are what the band does best, and Infinity's lack thereof is disappointing. Incessant musings on success in the music industry may be able to carry one album but not a career. Here's hoping Wentz realizes this before he loses himself completely in what it feels like to make it.
Though the tattooed, charismatic bassist serves as Fall Out Boy's frontman and mouthpiece, Infinity reveals that the band's real star is Stump, who has grown into a superb lead singer and master songwriter. A self-described recluse, Stump remains behind the scenes in most of his band's promotional adventures, gladly letting the attention-loving Wentz hog the spotlight. But Infinity is nothing less than a crowning achievement for Stump, who tears through every track with surprisingly sexy confidence.
The album's first single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," is a roaring anthem of pop perfection with booming guitars and thunderous drums to back up Stump as he expertly croons, coasts and cuts loose. Several of the album's tracks run on this same frantic energy, with the tongue-in-cheek "Thks Ff The Mmrs" combining melody and electricity and "Hum Hallelujah," a church hymn on speed, channeling the late Jeff Buckley's hit of the same name.
In between delivering the catchy hooks and punk-pop beats that characterize Fall Out Boy's sound, Infinity also manages to delve into genres previously untouched by the band. "Golden" is a bona fide piano ballad, and second single "Carpal Tunnel of Love" features an R&B beat infused with a heavy helping of soul. The band pulls off these musical ventures with surprising ease, proving that, unlike many of its peers, it can do more than strum power chords for three loud minutes.
Addressed to the clearly divided American public, who either love Fall Out Boy with rabid devotion or hate the band with equal commitment, Infinity celebrates the band's recent success while pointing a big middle finger at those who doubted it. The band members may not be the same troupe of punks that debuted on MTV2 in 2003, singing about the romantic angst they should have outgrown by high school, but they have made it this far, and they want you to listen up.
With Infinity on High, Fall Out Boy has proven itself not only good enough for Jay-Z's blessing, but are also raising the standards of modern pop music.
Grade: 4 out of 5
