Released January 20 / Fall Out Boy / Island Records

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

As music evolves, so do artists. Fall Out Boy is a band that takes huge risks in their production and arrangement but manages to stay true to bassist Pete Wentz’s touching lyrics. They dabble in electronic and hip-hop elements while taking inspiration from the TV show The Munsters theme song on the track “Uma Thurman” and samples from Suzanne Vega or Mötley Crüe. One easily noticeable aspect of this album is unity- every song sounds like they belong on American Beauty/American Psycho.

American Beauty/American Psycho has 11 tracks that at certain points either leaves hitting replay, or skip.“Novocaine” feels like it’s meant to be listened to in a barely lightroom and was lyrically inspired by the events that took place in Ferguson. Conversely, the first single “Centuries” was written for an arena crowd. The opener “Irresistible” is the most popular song on itunes and the horn-driven melody fundamentally carries the song. But, throughout the album, lead guitarist Joe Trohman’s skills get lost in the electronic or piano elements. The only tracks that truly showcase a heavy chord are “American Beauty/American Psycho” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright.” The transition from punk-rock to more pop-rock started to show in their 2013 album Save Rock and Roll and in 2015, the rock has started to dwindle and the emphasis on pop has increased.

When you listen to “Uma Thurman,” quite possibly one of the best songs off the album, you get the feeling that Pete Wentz went surfing and then wrote the melody of this song. Like the song title, it is inspired by the actress Uma Thurman and actor John Travolta’s shared dance in the film Pulp Fiction. That’s the only special spark with this album, each song is crafted differently with the unique spin of the samples and original ideas that Fall Out Boy is known for. While “Favorite Record” and “Immortals” are the the most electronic based and have a clearly modified version of Patrick Stump’s baritone voice, these songs can really turn off old fans while also attracting new ones. Then there is the last song, “Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC).” The refrain sounds slightly similar to Avenged Sevenfold’s “A Little Piece of Heaven.” This track is definitely a closer because it finishes with a blunt note right before the last three seconds of the album.

Overall, the album is put together effectively and the attraction is there, the lyric that emphasizes what the album puts on the table is “you are the song stuck in my head.” The question that floats around is, will fans of their older music will stick around. Have they grown up with the punk-rock Chicago band? Or do they stick to what’s familiar?