







Every time you think you might have Pete and the boys figured out, something a little out of left field gets tossed at you, and American Beauty/ American Psycho is no exception. AB/ AP builds on everything the band started doing on their 2013 release, Save Rock And Roll, and takes it to monumental heights, embodying everything literal pop rock should be, and I'll be damned if the whole thing isn't one of the most impressive things I've heard in a long time. Rock and roll has always been a fairly straight forward genre, having changed very little over the years, I think it would be fair to say that it's one of the least evolved genres of music. Not that it's ever been boring, or stagnant, but if rock and roll was a political ideology it would be the GOP. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."





AB/ AP is everything the evolution of rock should be. This is the genre growing legs and walking out of the ocean, trying to push the boundaries of it's existence, and what it can and can't do. When was the last time you heard a major label rock band using samples of other rock songs, and even electronic music to form the basis of their music? The experimentation and execution of new ideas are top notch here, with the painstaking production and engineering done by Jake Sinclair not to be overlooked. The multi-layered sound can only be described as having a gargantuan thickness built around an absolutely absurd foundation of bass.





In all of this you'd think some of the magic of Fall Out Boy might get lost, but thankfully that's not the case at all. Stump continues to write the bulk of the music, aside from the main parts of the title track, and "Fourth of July" both of which are heavily sampled from Motley Crue's "Too Fast For Love" and Son Lux's "Lost It To Trying." Wentz provides the lyrics as always with hallmark lines like "Fourth of July's" "My nine to five is cutting open old scars, again and again until I'm stuck in your head," which wouldn't seem out of place on 2005's From Under The Cork Tree, yet still works, and is incredibly effective without sounding overdone or forced.





The truly great thing about American Beauty/ American Psycho is the album feels conjoined, but at the same time, every song is special, and refreshing in its own way. Heavy back beats, and huge sing along choruses make more than half the album potential live show staples. The first half of the album seems to be comprised of the more radio friendly, single type songs. The lead singles "Centuries" and the album's title track, allowing with big songs like "Irresistible" and the massively catchy, surf rock, electronic stomp of "Uma Thurman." Yet, its the second half where the album really shines, and everything finally clicks like the first few tracks promise. "Novocaine" and "Fourth of July" are the album's masterpieces, shining in every way the record was meant to. The perfect combination of musicianship, gorgeous production and all the hook in the world. This isn't to say the other tunes aren't as good, but these are the moments when things work better than they were previously."Immortals," a leftover from The Big Hero 6 Soundtrack fits right at home here as well, rolling along smooth to the final track "Twin Skeleton's (Hotel In NYC)" which is a more subdued song, and great ending to the album.





Fall Out Boy aren't who they used to be. This is something entirely new, the culmination of growing up, and creating a new identity. Honestly, this is the biggest hurdle the album will have to overcome, the expectations and the past experiences of the listeners. When you take the album for what it is, what the band wanted to create, it's hard to find a fault with what they've released. The only gripes to make is that you almost feel like you lose Joe and Andy's musical contributions to the record's overall sound, wondering where they might be buried underneath production. This is a small complaint to make because you know that they're there, making all the right contributions, but it could be said. Also, the slower songs don't work AS well for the style of music the band is creating. "Jet Pack Blues" while a great song, is oddly placed on the record and creates a stumbling block, and "Twin Skeleton's" works as a closer, but is probably the weakest song on the album. If this is what Fall Out Boy wants to be, I love it, and I'm dying to see what it does for the genre, and the group.





Score: 9/10

Hits: Irresistible, Centuries, Uma Thurman, Novocaine, Fourth of July, Favorite Record, Immortals

Misses: Twin Skeleton's, Jet Pack Blues