Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High

Island
2007
A-
Reviewed by: Dom Passantino
Reviewed on: 2007-02-09



Posted 02/09/2007 - 08:44:16 AM by johnedowney:
 Oh crap. Here comes the flood.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 08:51:57 AM by blackrooster:
 A-!! Why is emo so highly praised by some quarters? It is just the same as the likes of Good Charlotte and other similar bobbins, that was popular a few years before, just has a new stupid name.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 09:33:18 AM by Vykromond:
 "Infinity On High is a great NY hip-hop record in everything but sound and location." Vykromond is a great President of Australia in everything but occupation and location. Please just stop.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 09:38:14 AM by meatbreak:
 Um, Dom...'There's a lot on here that's great and pretty much nothing that's bad'? I've heard the single. It's bad. Really, really, really bad. By 'Blue-eyed rock', i take it you mean 'Blue-collar rock'. Have you heard the Kylesa album Time Will Fuse Its Worth? There's an album with all the hooks you mention and it's ruffer too. Sorry to mention them again, but aren't Klaxons also a band built around their bassist? And The Young Knives; I think House Of Lords get all the press for them too.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 10:09:02 AM by J_R_K_:
 i've only heard the single, but i have to admit when i heard it on the radio i thought it was pretty good. not something i would listen to, but compared to AFI or something else, it's not bad. i don't want to defend dom or fall out boy. whoops.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 10:16:09 AM by roadrunner:
 40 days & 40 nights
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 12:19:47 PM by thehuskybride:
 hahahaha!
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 12:38:57 PM by badhaircut:
 If I was 15 I'd probably love this. I mean, enough to buy it.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 12:52:27 PM by callheraction:
 What the fuck ever. I'm right there with you, Dom. Fall Out Boy has been my great since 'Take This To Your Grave,' and this album continues the streak.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 01:43:54 PM by garlad1:
 Isn't emo a non-dairy sour cream substitute? I used to put that stuff on my potatoes back in the 90s. Does that make me old-school emo?
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 01:58:57 PM by smwynne:
 Yeah, whatever Dom. These guys are TOTALLY sweet. All of this guy's reviews are a piss-take. A sad joke. I don't believe he is clever enough to honestly review a record.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 02:00:48 PM by diggles:
 I won't ever subject myself to this album, but I think it's gutsy to champion a band like this when you know the indie bloodsuckers are going to pounce. Go to p4k for the obligatory slam job, go to stylus for reviewers that like what they like and aren't shy about telling you ... that said, that hip-hop comparison, I mean, we both know it's ... ahhh nevermind
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 02:52:39 PM by AKMoose:
 So am I the only one who's going to start going "oh, wait, disregard that entire review" when I get to the end and see Dom's name?
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 06:07:01 PM by syurix:
 I haven't heard this thing yet, however; the fact that I've read an intelligent review that seems to concede the possibilty that mall emo can be legitimate pop music in the same sense as any other genre can be is immensely refereshing. I'm actually torrenting it right now.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 08:04:19 PM by mrtntrn:
 The more interesting aspect of this review is your thesis that popular opinion of music genre is dependent on shifting waves of music critics. I mean, that's pure masturbation on your part [maybe not as bad as writing a review just to incite the indie Hitler Jugend], but an interesting idea.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 09:26:40 PM by barbarian:
 Dom, you fucking bitch ass hair crack sunny bitch whore dick tasting butt sniffing bloody douche. Why the fuck does this retard have freedom of speech? Surely, in this case the right should be revoked. This is a new breed of stupidity I simply haven't encountered. You seriously have to be an idiot. Sometimes I post extreme reactions on this thing, but not this time. You seriously have to be an idiot.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 09:31:40 PM by barbarian:
 dom don't even pretend to be heterosexual coz you couldn't fool anybody. i don't have anything against gays - in fact, i love em - but i sure have something against you. if you know whats good youll never let me see your fricken mug.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 09:33:35 PM by barbarian:
 i just saw that belle & sebastian made your favorite album. i was right - you are a raging gaybaby. you prolly don't even realize this.
 
Posted 02/09/2007 - 11:54:17 PM by syurix:
 reread this: https://stylusmagazines.com/reviews/panic-at-the-disco/a-fever-you-cant-sweat-out.htm Something makes sense here, and I don't know what.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 08:26:57 AM by Nodima:
 I've found I'm able to enjoy a lot of music; I can easily listen to Mariah Carey's Emotions after a Boris or Boredoms session. Because of this I've been able to tough it out through nu-emo's stranger moments and find out that Fall Out Boy was the greatest pop rock band since Green Day's heyday. However, I say was because this is the album where they lost it. I don't know what hooks you're talking about, and I must have missed the wit they've become known for. Even their song titles aren't as interesting as they used to be. This is one of my bigger pet peeve reactions, but because of the heights they've reached as far back as their debuts, it's hard to accept this is where they're going: mediocrity. This is their American Idiot a half-decade too soon.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 08:28:11 AM by johnedowney:
 Barbarian, you can criticize his views of the album, but pulling out the "YOU'RE A FAG!" card only makes you look like a complete fucking jackass.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 02:52:16 PM by grandbanks:
 Jesus Christ people. Fuck this shit (and I don't mean the pop music at question here, as Fall Out Boy is pretty much exactly what they are, music for 14 year olds and people who want easy entertainment. Seems they are fine at it, and this music has a place, like it or not). Dom, I have enjoyed some of your reviews (The View) and could care less about others. No problem with pop music getting reviewed here, none of that shit, but this review is so obviously about you and for you. First of all, no "genre" of music is any hungrier than any other, that is just you creating divisiveness within an industry that thrives on it. Musicians are hungry, they get popular, they get less hungry, ad infinitum. Things go in cycles, sure, but emo (or it's "pop-punk" or whatever you want to call it) has been on the radio pretty regularly for about 13 years now. If you wanna nitpick about the genre, fine, but as far as kids having the equivalent of Fall Out Boy available, undeniably they have. Just bullshit, your whole take. Admire the hustle my ass, they are doing what every fucking band does (that wants to be huge, that is). The bass player gets a lot of play, in all respects. So what? Plenty of history there, not even worth mentioning. Too attractive for this, please. Rob Sheffield is an example of someone who writes about this stuff well. This is just bad writing. You are plenty clever, Dom, and obsession and contradiction are fine in rock writing, as well as creativity, but get over yourself. Everyone should go read Dom's review of Panic at the Disco, in which he slams the genre in question pretty heavily. Like I said, that doesn't really bother me, as I am always rooting for bands to get better, so maybe you are too and this record really surprised you. Something doesn't add up for me, though, and this review just hammers it home the more I read it (especially considering that you make no mention of your past opinion of this band). It just oozes with self-satisfaction and willful over-indulgence. The first paragraph of this review alone makes me sad. Where are the few sentences that sum up the critical antipathy? Haven't the kids been listening to emo for quite a while? Aren't the parents always scared and annoyed at what their kids listen to? Why is this good (that it's emo)? Fuckin A, nothing in this review is earned or backed up, nothing. Surely hope the kids listen to that Klaxons record over this, anyway.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 03:15:43 PM by barbarian:
 johnedowney, come on, buddy, you are acting ridiculous. Like I said, I love gay people. I watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, for christsakes. I never even said the word 'fag,' and don't like to use it. I'm just pointing out that Dom is a raging closet gay boy and enjoys annoying people because he probably hates himself or something. I don't pretend to understand him completely. The fact is, this dudes favorite album is by Belle & Sebastian. That is gay, end of story. I think Dom is bad for the gay community actually because he's a pompous moron and afraid to admit who he actually is, presumably even to himself. IMO, Johnedowney, you're the one who looks bad, not I.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 03:18:57 PM by barbarian:
 I also have nothing against pop music whatsoever and will rock out the radio all day long. But Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco - these two bands are utter shit and should be treated as such. And the fucking dude in Fall Out Boy - have you even seen this fucker without a hat on? I don't like the Killers, for example, but they are far better than Fall Out or Panic. Fall Out Boy is really just pathetic in every way imaginable.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 03:21:50 PM by barbarian:
 Grandbanks, you nailed it man. Great job. Great post.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 03:35:08 PM by KettleMcGregor:
 this review just sounds like what Fall Out Boy hope people are saying about them. make a big deal about them as characters, downplay what it actually sounds like, and focus on the hooks. music for people who have favorite "parts" of songs.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 03:57:59 PM by DomPassantino:
 I'm a Skynyrd fan, of course I have favorite "parts" of songs
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 06:12:52 PM by grandbanks:
 Well, I can agree with that, Dom. I too have favorite parts of songs, and I am sure we all have favorite parts of songs we actually don't like, who doesn't? Geez, people need to think about what they say.
 
Posted 02/10/2007 - 06:20:37 PM by grandbanks:
 Dom, that wasn't meant to be a slight to you, or anyone, but fuck, it's like people are in such a rush to say something that they don't even read the review closely or the previous comments. Meh, no use following this, I am sure it isn't suddenly going to get interesting.
 
Posted 02/12/2007 - 12:49:31 PM by johnedowney:
 1.) I like Belle & Sebastian, and I'm straight. 2.) You used the word "gay" in negative connotations. That sounds pretty homophobic to me. 3.) Grandbanks, you rule.
 
Posted 02/24/2007 - 05:40:46 PM by stevecheney:
 Slightly off-topic, but isn't the Klaxons primary accolade the fact that they're not Enter Shikari, in much the same way that Fall Out Boy win by not being MCR or Panic! At The Disco? Also I'm pretty sure Italians aren't gay.