By Amy Keum 
Staff Writer

Pop punk band Fall Out Boy have released their highly anticipated comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, which hit the shelves on April 12th. After more than a two year break, the band come back together to produce a completely new and somewhat generic sound, making this album fall just short of its bold title.

When the Chicago-based band released their second album From Under the Cork Tree in 2005, Fall Out Boy broke out of the underground scene and became one of the biggest pop punk acts of the time. The album reached double platinum status, selling 2.7 million copies and winning the hearts of thousands of screaming fans who would continue to support and love their next three albums.

Continuing to impress listeners with their bold lyrics and catchy, yet new sound, the group stayed right on their winning streak until their sudden announcement on November 20, 2009. The band stated that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus, saying that they were unsure of the future of the band. Fans were distraught. So when the announcement came that the group was finally returning, expectations and excitement ran high. But has this album really lived up to the legacy of the band?

Save Rock and Roll starts off with a solid and heavy track titled “The Phoenix.” Like many of their previous songs, it includes a very glam rock-esque sound and a driving beat. Being one of the better tracks on the album, this is one of the few songs which seem to accurately represent the sound that the group claimed to embody on the album.

Following is another one of the better songs on the album, titled “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light It Up)”. This, along with “Where Did the Party Go?”, are probably the most catchy songs on the album that do not betray the sound that the band once built such a strong foundation upon. Much like their other albums, one thing that doesn’t lack is lead vocalist Patrick Stump’s ability to hit some high and belty notes. Unfortunately, this is only one of the few highlights from this otherwise mediocre effort.

From this point, the album starts to decline. The songs start to sound more and more like the alternative-indie sound filling the radio in this “hipster” era. “Miss Missing You,” “Death Valley,” and “Alone Together” all share a very similar and generic, indie sound with repeating acoustic guitar chords and overall weaker lyrics.

One of the bigger disappointments is the song “Just One Yesterday,” which features electronica artist Foxes. The intro is very reminiscent of the popular song “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. It also follows the same basic pattern of so many songs already out there today.

Another letdown on the comeback album was the track “The Mighty Fall,” featuring rapper Big Sean. In this pseudo-rap song, Fall Out Boy loses every trace of their original sound. Drowning with repeating and familiar noises and sound effects, the generic song not only disappoints fans, but also is just not very good. Hopefully, this is not representative of the route that the band is following.

Some could argue that the new sound is just the group’s way of growing with their audience and broadening their spectrum, which could very well be true. But this album, especially coming from the band who was once seen as fearless, brings nothing new to the table and instead timidly fits in with the rest of the Indie-driven music which has overtaken the music scene in this “hipster” driven world. Save Rock and Roll is not a terrible effort, for it does contain a few solid tracks, but falls short of the expectations of the band who once took the teenage pop punk music scene by storm.

3/5

Listen To: “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light It Up)”, “Where Did the Party Go?”