Jan 2006

Currently the biggest breakthrough act in the USA, Fall Out Boy now release their second album here in the UK, the all-conquering 'From Under The Cork Tree'. Cross pollinating their hardcore roots with a generous helping of power-pop hooks and punk-rock attitude, Fall Out Boy are not only the toast of the Emo scene, but also look set to experience mainstream success here in the UK with lead single 'Sugar, We're Going Down', and future single 'Dance Dance'.

• Rolling Stone (p.76) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]hanks to a lot of taut grooves and dense hooks, these Chicago kids' near-emo is always kind of charming."
• Kerrang - "...bulging with great tunes and enough energy to to power the National Grid."

Fall Out Boy cooks up an immediately digestible combination of crunching rock, highly melodic songwriting, and expressive singing on 2005's FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE, the Chicago unit's first release on Island, and its most accomplished to date. Building on an instrumental foundation that owes debts to both hardcore (drummer Andy Hurley has a thunderous, bass-drum-heavy approach that gives the band tremendous muscle) and indie rock (guitarist Joe Trohman peels off melodic solos), Fall Out Boy packs quite a sonic punch.
However, it is the group's songcraft that impresses the most. Each of CORK TREE's 13 tracks is rife with pop hooks. From the churning chords and expansive chorus of the opener (cheekily titled "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued"), through the brightly up-tempo "Sugar, We're Goin Down", to the minor-key "XO", CORK TREE is overflowing with potential hit singles. Singer/guitarist Patrick Stump's clear tenor and evocative lyrics (which balance confessionalism, metaphor, and witty cleverness) are the icing on this sweet punk-pop cake.

Fall Out Boy: Patrick Stump (vocals); Joe Trohman (guitar); Peter Wentz (bass guitar); Andy Hurley (drums).
Recording information: Ocean Studios, Burbank, California; Paramount Studio, Hollywood, California.
Fall Out Boy cooks up an immediately digestible combination of crunching rock, highly melodic songwriting, and expressive singing on 2005's FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE, the Chicago unit's first release on Island, and its most accomplished to date. Building on an instrumental foundation that owes debts to both hardcore (drummer Andy Hurley has a thunderous, bass-drum-heavy approach that gives the band tremendous muscle) and indie rock (guitarist Joe Trohman peels off melodic solos), Fall Out Boy packs quite a sonic punch.
However, it is the group's songcraft that impresses the most. Each of CORK TREE's 13 tracks is rife with pop hooks. From the churning chords and expansive chorus of the opener (cheekily titled "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued"), through the brightly up-tempo "Sugar, We're Goin Down," to the minor-key "XO," CORK TREE is overflowing with potential hit singles. Singer/guitarist Patrick Stump's clear tenor and evocative lyrics (which balance confessionalism, metaphor, and witty cleverness) are the icing on this sweet punk-pop cake.

The mercurial term "emo" has meant many different things since its first appearance in the mid-1980s hardcore punk underground. By the mid 2000s, the term was best exemplified by the band Fall Out Boy. Playing an accessible brand of melodic rock marked by clever, classically angsty lyrics and the blistering energy of punk's harsher sub-genres, Fall Out Boy rocketed to near TRL superstardom following the release of 2005's FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE.