Album Review: Fall Out Boy - Save Rock And Roll

Fall Out Boy are unlikely to gain new fans with Save Rock And Roll. They'll likely alienate many of existing ones. Their latest album arrives drenched in the production work of pop heavyweight Butch Walker (Avril Lavigne, Pink, Taylor Swift). Where once they wrote rock songs heavily indebted to classic pop, Save Rock And Roll sees the band diving headlong into their role as pop stars.

Initially it's quite jarring, particularly following the band's relatively stripped-back Folie à Deux (2008). It's hard to get past, for example, The Phoenix's massive staccato strings, Alone Together's children's choir or the title track's hip hop groove. Fortunately, there's more to the album. Fall Out Boy have always been a fantastically underrated group of songwriters and Save Rock And Roll ultimately qualifies as another sterling demonstration of their knack for popular songcraft. It's one of their better showcases, in fact.

Pete Wentz is still hit-and-miss. The bassist's lyrics have always walked a fine line between genuine wit and high school poetics and, while maintaining an interesting thematic fascination with growing old, they remain so here. However, Patrick Stump's platinum melodies remain largely unstoppable. The bittersweet twists of Just One Yesterday and Miss Missing You are gorgeous. He even outshines guest Elton John on the title track.

There are a couple of forgettable songs tucked in the album's latter-half (Young Volcanoes sounds like a Mumford & Sons rip) but there's yet to be a Fall Out Boy album that doesn't answer to that description. For the most part, Save Rock And Roll is a bold and audacious step forward for a great pop outfit.