American Beauty/American Psycho • REVIEW

I'm supposed to study for tomorrow's physics exam (which is actually quite easy for me because we're learning about electronics and I took Technical Works last year so I already know the stuff). But for the past week, Fall Out Boy has released many of their new songs on Youtube, from their new, not-yet-officially-released album American Beauty/American Psycho, and I thought I'd do a little review. I'm don't usually do reviews but I'M SO EXCITED! I've been listening to the album on repeat for like, two hours haha!

In case you didn't know, Fall Out Boy is an American pop-punk band formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. They went on hiatus in 2010, but reformed in 2013 and recorded their fifth studio album Save Rock and Roll.

Their sixth album American Beauty/American Psycho is scheduled to be released on January 20th, but it was leaked online and so FOB decided to stream all of the songs on their Youtube channel already.

The lead single Centuries was released September last year. The first thing I noticed was that the style is a bit different from their previous songs and I didn't really like it at first, but now I just love it! I think it's great that FOB doesn't just stick to the exact same style the whole time and tries new things, while still being able to sound as amazing as ever.

The next song released was Immortals, which is featured in Disney's new movie Big Hero 6. There are two versions of it, the movie version and then the one that will be in the album. I personally like the one in the album more, because it's more like their sound and not Disneyish (which isn't a bad thing though!). I didn't really like this one that much in the beginning either, but now I find myself singing along to the catchy chorus haha!

The next two songs uploaded on their Youtube channel were The Kids Aren't Alright and American Beauty/American Psycho (the second single, released in December). The lyrics to The Kids Aren't Alright are a bit dark but very interesting. And to me this sounds sort of like their usual songs, but still having a different kind of sound to it. I also really love AB/AP and its music video. I think the video is really cool and interesting, and can be interpreted in different ways. I'd say that these two are my favourite songs from the album.

The third single is Uma Thurman and will be released on the 27th this month. I quite like this one too, and I think it has a pretty catchy chorus! Other songs from the album are Irresistible, Jet Pack Blues, Novocaine, Fourth of July, Favorite Record and Twin Skeletons (Hotel in NYC). Irresistible is pretty cool because of the trumpet/horn heard throughout the song, unfortunately the guitar and bass can't be heard very well because of this, but it's still an okay song. Jet Pack Blues, Fourth of July and Twin Skeletons are good, but not really my favourites. Novocaine is okay, for some reason it reminds me of The Phoenix (from Save Rock and Roll) a bit, but it's still a unique song in itself. As for Favorite Record, it's probably one of my favorite records (see what I did there?). I love the lyrics, especially the chorus, and I just think it's a really nice song!

Overall, I think the album is is a very great one and definitely not a disappointment, even though it was a bit weird at first because it differs from Fall Out Boy's usual style. But the same thing was said about Save Rock and Roll, and it was really good as well. As I've said, I think it's nice that they try different kinds of music styles, because it shows that they are capable of it. I understand it might be a little sad for those who have been fans from the start and are so used to the pre-hiatus FOB, but a lot of bands and artists change their music style, and I think that unlike some, FOB does it really well. Or maybe it's because I only started listening to them in 2013. But I like their old songs, and I like their new ones equally much! And it's not like they've gone from pop-punk to, say, mainstream pop, it's still sort of punk/rock/alternative.

I also especially like both of the album covers. I think it really fits with the title, and it's a little mysterious, with the boy running and staring with an almost emotionless expression. In the one above, I like the part where the picture is like cut in half and moved to the side a bit, it makes it look quite interesting!

Also a lot of fans, myself included, have noticed the one-word song titles, something quite unheard of before. FOB's song titles have usually been so incredible long! You've probably heard of My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up), and then there's I've Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song) and Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued! So it's a little shocking to see titles like Centuries and Immortals and Irresistible, but anyway, that's not such a big problem (or is it?).

Anyway, this has been some kind of review, if you're a fan of pop-punk/rock and haven't heard the album then you really should! Even though it has a few songs I don't really care about, I think it's a great album. So, hope you enjoyed this review, and have a nice day!

xx,

Mary