Infinity on HighStudio Album
Recorded: July 2006 - October 2006
Released: 5 February 2007
Band lineupPatrick Stump (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano)
Pete Wentz (bass guitar, backing vocals)
Joe Trohman (lead guitar)
Andy Hurley (drums, percussion)
All tracks authored by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz, except where noted, and all music composed by Fall Out Boy.
1. Thriller (3:30)
2. "The Take Over, the Breaks Over" (3:34)
3. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race (3:32)
4. I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You) (3:31)
5. Hum Hallelujah (3:50) (
Stump, Wentz, Leonard Cohen)
6. Golden (2:32) (
Stump, Wentz, Wesley Eisold)
7. Thnks fr th Mmrs (3:23)
8. Don't You Know Who I Think I Am? (2:51)
9. The (After) Life of the Party (3:21)
10. The Carpal Tunnel of Love (3:23) (
Stump, Wentz, Eisold)
11. Bang the Doldrums (3:31) (
Stump, Wentz, Eisold)
12. Fame < Infamy (3:06)
13. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave (3:42)
14. I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers (4:06)
ReviewOkay, this is a marked improvement on everything they’ve done before. I thought
From Under the Cork Tree was the kick-off point for the Fall Out journey, but this is leaps and bounds beyond that album. It’s quite a step away from pop punk, into “alternative rock” territory instead. No longer is the band dependent on tried-and-true riffs, bravado, and songs about broken hearts to see them through their work. Now it feels like something new, something unique and not just a particularly good version of every other pop punk band.
The album starts off with “Thriller”, which has Jay-Z inexplicably open with a spoken intro, before getting into what sounds like an improved-upon version of their usual stuff, albeit with noticeably better vocals. But it’s “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” that marches out to a dark bet to show that this album isn’t the same as their others. I can’t express how much I enjoyed that song; it was my “London Calling” for Fall Out Boy, where I realized the band had the potential ability to make me stop and listen intently to their music.
“Hum Hallelujah” deals with lead singer Patrick Stump’s attempted suicide-by-overdose and how Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” imprinted on him so heavily in those moments. “Golden” is a slow, pretty, bittersweet ballad about how being famous not only changed how they view things, but how they are viewed. And “Thnks fr th Mmrs”, a song I thought I knew, turned out to be a song I had never heard before. I distinctly recall a slow “thaaaanks for the memorieeees” from
something, but apparently it’s not this. (note: if anyone can figure out what song I’m thinking of, I’d be eternally grateful. I feel like the song’s video has something to do with a dead sibling, but I could be wrong) This is much, much better. Fantastic production and vocals; probably almost on-par with “This Ain’t a Scene”.
“Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?” features what are probably the best vocals on the album, but from there it all goes downhill for a while. “Bang the Doldrums” is pretty good, and “You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave” is interesting if mainly because of its absurd nature; a narrative song detailing a fictional, rather normal court case.
The album closes with “I’ve Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers”, which escalates the album back to the level of pretty great music. More varied instrumentation, interesting melodies and vocal flourishes, overall just a really good closing song.
This is the first Fall Out Boy album I can say I enjoyed a lot. I’m not sure if I loved it—time will tell—but I’ve a nagging feeling that this album alone is going to cement Fall Out Boy as a band that shows up consistently in my music sessions.