Review Summary: This isn't a horrible record-- but coming from what were once the quirky torchbearers of pop punk, one can't help but feel at least somewhat disappointed.
To describe Fall Out Boy as a band that "went pop" isn't exactly the right words, despite that being the immediate assumption-- the fact is, Fall Out Boy has been a thoroughly pop band from the beginning. The melody-drenched hooks of Take This To Your Grave, the soulful crooning of Infinity On High; these are all elements of the accessible style that the group built at the start. And since then, over and over again we are told either one of two things: Fall Out Boy are sellouts, or Fall Out Boy are simply evolving as they please.
This argument tends to get aggressive depending on who you're talking to. In the opinion of many, however, it's pretty clear that since the Fall Out Boy's return from their more than three-year hiatus, they've been an entirely different band. Depending on who you ask, again, this might be perfectly fine, or reason to riot. No matter the perspective, the shift isn't just in the band's overall sound-- it's in their attitude, and in many respects the very core of what many grew up with them representing. Even after they unfurled a nearly full-on pop sound in the mid to late 2000s, there was always something distinctly weird about them. Fall Out Boy were the poster band of modern pop-rock, firmly placed in the hands of the often unforgiving mainstream, but despite this they always possessed this outsider strangeness, a kind of cynical middle finger yet irony-tinged embrace to and of pop culture as a whole. They were the slightly-satirical and incredibly keen epitome of the 2000s, caught somewhere between the alternative culture and the bug-eyed media. Fall Out Boy's lyrics-- mostly curated by bassist Pete Wentz-- ranged from witty and biting to outright wild and abstract, metaphors and subtle references abound. Each record was increasingly more pop, yes, but one thing was clear: each one was also increasingly more strange, and increasingly more ambitious.
Perhaps this ambitiousness was what dug them their brief stint in the grave, even if fans would come around to it later on; nevertheless, when Fall Out Boy returned to the scene in 2013 with Save Rock And Roll, they were much cleaner and perhaps a little sterilized, even. The return album was a fair success, and despite it falling short of Fall Out Boy's earlier distinctness, there was energy to be found within it, along with the raging concept of the accompanying music video chronology. There was genuineness left in them, even if they'd reshaped a lot of it.
American Beauty/American Psycho isn't radically different in genre from its predecessor, but if Save Rock and Roll lacked some of the originality that made Fall Out Boy who they were, AB/ AP seemed to practically kill it. These songs weren't inherently bad, per se; most were catchy, passable songs by the standards of a summer pop jam. But it all felt very devoid of feeling, the mega-hits playing on every sports channel and the once intimate vocals of Patrick Stump feeling drowned out and processed by hyped anthem-chasing. There were some moments of songwriting intrigue, but on the whole the lyrics of this record pale violently in comparison to the mysterious songs of culture and irony that lies in Fall Out Boy's past. The title track gives us a rollicking, pounding song for several listens; even songs like Fourth of July and Jet Pack Blues have a bit of power to them; and the best work on the entire album, Twin Skeletons (Hotel In NYC), gives a glimpse of what this record could of been if only some of that old heart could've been pumped into it.
Overall, by the standards of pop music, American Beauty/ American Psycho is not bad. But by the standards of a band that one redefined what it meant to be a pop artist and made their way firmly into our culture despite the odds-- this is nothing like the creative sonic landscapes we've come to expect.
