What is it with the recent influx of acoustic records by pop-punk bands? If you take recent ‘efforts’ by The Starting Line and The Early November, both of whom deviated from their stereotypical pop-punk wares to come back with stripped down acoustic-lite tales of a broken heart, you’d know that the genre hasn’t quite mastered the art of the ‘quiet’ guitar. Infact both of those releases were relatively low-key, maybe because the record labels knew they were half-hearted attempts at getting a ‘product’ out for mass consumption. The quiet things that no-one ever knows (about). Ho hum.
Anyway, Fueled By Ramen’s Fallout Boy are the next on the list, hanging up the electricity in favour of something a little more subtle. And quiet. In truth acoustic murmurings were always going to suit FOB better than TSL because of their respective vocalists – while Kenny Vasoli has a great pop-punk voice, he’s far too whiney to carry it off without a distortion pedal to mask the sound. Patrick Strump, on the other hand, is less annoying, and fronting a band who write cleverly (and at time with razor-sharp wit, albeit slightly dumbed down), the chances were always higher that FOB would adapt better than their Drive Thru counterparts. It turns out that this is true. While ‘My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue’ isn’t a world beater, and certainly won’t be challenging Elliot Smith in the acoustic department, it is a record that interests for a little while. The DVD is better, packed with character and entertainment, making the £8-ish price tag decent value.
The five tracks contained for your aural pleasure aren’t the best FOB songs you’ll ever hear, and yes, they do the pop-punk thing better than the acoustic thing. ‘My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon’ is a great song, however, although it does tend to lead you into a false sense of security because it is the best track on offer. FOB always write great choruses, so ‘It’s Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine, I Am Thinking It Must Be Love’ is masked despite its weak verses. Cover songs are always a risky idea and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was never going to live up to the Joy Division original, but credit for the band for having a good old stab, without leaving any messy entrails on show. The only ‘old’ song ‘s Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy’ and this comes across well, but it will never set the world alight. The DVD is full of charm, and although on the short side, the live acoustic efforts, although ramshackle and recorded at a house party, are funny as hell. The singalong feel emphasises the anthemic nature of their songs and it’s all good fun. The two videos and extras on offer are basic, but for a decent price there’s value for your outlay.
This is pretty harmless stuff, and as the DVD shows, done in good humour, but it will hardly set the world alight. Fans of the band will lap this up, those who don’t like FOB won’t like this either. It is predictable and it is very polished and American-sounding (I know they’re American, but you know what I mean!) but it’s done far better than the other acoustic side-projects.
www.falloutboy.com
Fueled By Ramen
Paul