Evening Out With Your Girlfriend,
Fall Out BoyI'm sure bands look back sometimes and think 'God, we were awful back in the day'. In between swimming in pools filled with cash, I'm sure Fall Out Boy think exactly the same. 'Take This To Your Grave' was fantastic, 'From Under The Cork Tree' a million-selling belter. But 'Evening Out With Your Girlfriend', the band's first nine-track effort released before their Fueled By Ramen days, is an abomination and a million miles away from the band they have become. Rough as a badger's arse production and slip-shod songs suggest a band more likely to drown in a sea of generica rather than lead the field.
'Evening Out With Your Girlfriend' sounds like a stale Blink 182. Infact that's possibly even being quite kind. The song structures smack of a band with little to no experience and the production is so far away from the thick, creamy texture of a song like 'Dance, Dance' you could really be forgiven for thinking the two albums were recorded by different bands. The sharp, cynical wit in Pete Wentz's lyrics just isn't here, while the catchy melodies aren't catchy or melodic. Uprising Records keep re-releasing this based on FOB's 2005 successes and I don't blame them. But I also don't blame FOB for distancing themselves from this CD. If this was an evening out with your girlfriend, it would be a contender for worst date ever.
www.falloutboyrock.com
Uprising Records
Paul
