Fall Out Boy’s “Folie à Deux” [Review]

Every band has a black sheep album. An album that’s too much of a departure for the group, or just something that’s not memorable. For Fall Out Boy, that album was Folie à Deux.

Folie à Deux was the followup to Infinity on High, which you may know from its singles “The Carpal Tunnel of Love”, “The Take Over, the Breaks Over”, “I’m Like a Lawyer with the Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)”, and of course the two big ones, “Thnks fr th Mmrs”, and “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race”.

Folie à Deux is much more of a departure from the band’s emo and punk roots, and while Infinity on High embraced those roots all while gearing more toward hip-hop, soul, and funk, Folie à Deux takes influence from them all but goes much heavier on the soul and funk. When this album came out, fans of the band “openly hated it” according to Patrick Stump, the band’s lead singer. It’s also what many consider to be the cause of their hiatus, which lasted 4 years.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, for now, let us welcome the new administration.

Welcome to the New Administration was a mixtape released on August 18th, 2008. The mixtape was released to promote the release of Folie À Deux and announced that it would release on November 4th later that year, however, it was delayed until December 16th. Welcome to the New Administration included demos of “I Don’t Care” and “America’s Suitehearts” which would appear on Folie À Deux, and ultimately get released as singles to promote the album. Two other songs “ALPHAdog and OMEGAlomaniac” and “Lake Effect Kid” would be released later, the former being released as a part of their “Greatest Hits” album, Believers Never Die, titled “Alpha Dog” and the latter being released 10 years later to celebrate headlining a concert at Wrigley Field on an EP aptly named “Lake Effect Kid”. The mixtape also included several songs from artists on the labels “Decaydance” (Now known as DCD2) and “Fueled By Ramen” notably Panic! At The Disco, The Cab, Cobra Starship, and Gym Class Heroes.

Folie à Deux is nothing short of a symphony, taking you on a trip with every song. Each track is very different from the last, but somehow they mesh together into a unified listening experience. Patrick Stump’s voice shines through with a heavy soul influence, and along with the heavy bass, this evolution from punk to rock shines through.

The album begins with a hidden track known as “Lullabye”. Originally written by bassist Pete Wentz for his kid, the song is an acoustic melody that’s actually a lullaby. The song’s meaning is more atone to life lessons. Pete explains that just because something belongs to someone else or is currently out of reach does not mean that you should focus on it, there are so many other things that you could be spending time on. Life’s what you make it so don’t dwell on some minor thing holding you up, it’ll all pass eventually.

Organs are some of the most beautiful instruments out there, and the way you get thrown into this album is a hell of a ride. In “Disloyal Order of the Water Buffaloes” we’re greeted by the soothing tones of what sounds like a church organ, and Stump serenades us about how he’s falling apart. The organ fades out and BAM, the guitar strums in, and the drums kick it. Stump’s voice has evolved over the years and it shines. The band relays their problems to us and how rough their lives have been, how no one wants to hear about celebrities’s problems, and the lyric “I’m a loose bolt of a complete machine” relays that message perfectly. The song’s title is a reference to the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon “The Flintstones” in which a club called “Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes” serves as a mainstay for the main characters, Fred and Barney.

The drums kick it into high gear and get extremely intense in “I Don’t Care”. The bassline absolutely kills it and helps push the ‘IDGAF’ nature of the song, while the lyrics push the idea that they don’t care what you think about them, love it, or hate it this is Fall Out Boy. It follows the thought process of ‘all publicity is good publicity’ and with the band at the height of their popularity, it makes sense why this was the lead single off of the album. It’s one of the more aggressive songs on the record as well, with the harshness in Stump’s vocals, and the explosive finale, it makes for a great anthem.

The dial is turned down from an 11 to a 7 in “She’s My Winona”. The guitar still makes a roaring announcement that it’s here and the boys vocalizing in this song make you wanna sing along. However, this song is a coming-of-age story, about how people change, and how having a kid can change your whole outlook on life, making you appreciate the small things. The song’s title is a reference to actress Winona Ryder, but Wentz says that Winona can be anyone. The drums on this track make you feel like your heartbeat is in your head with every thump during the verses, and the guitars are absolutely stellar. The closing part of this track with the acoustic guitar and chunky bass shifting into the outro is such a delight.

The first song that fans probably heard off the record would be “America’s Suitehearts” as it was the only song included in “Welcome to the New Administration”. It was released as a single only a few days before the release of the album. The song starts out with a chunky bass and a guitar that won’t quit with solid riffs throughout the track. The backing vocals on this track are standout and Stump is no slouch either. Again, with the band being at the height of their popularity, this track is about media taking advantage of people, draining their humanity, and turning them into another cog in a machine. One super neat thing about this music video is that each of the band members is a caricature of a person from another song. Pete Wentz is ‘Mr. Sandman’ from “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet”, Joe Trohman is a horseshoe crab from “The (Shipped) Gold Standard”, Andy Hurley is ‘Donnie the Catcher’ from “What A Catch, Donnie”, and Patrick Stump is ‘Mr. Benezdrine’ from “20 Dollar Nose Bleed”.

And the classic Fall Out Boy trope of having ridiculously long names shows its head for what might be the last time. “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet” was originally titled “Does Your Husband Know” and revolves around the theme of infidelity and cheating on your partner. With a chunky bass, solid grooves, Stump’s outstanding vocals, beautiful use of piano, and a fantastic closing chorus, this is an essential track. The title of this song is a tongue-in-cheek nod to pro baseball player, Pete Rose. Known for sliding into bases headfirst, Rose was barred from ever entering the Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, New York, due to accusations of gambling on games while he managed and played for the Cincinnati Reds.

Slowing things down a bit is “The (Shipped) Gold Standard”. This song is a bit different from the others on the rest of the record because it juxtaposes everything the rest of the album has built up so far. The whole point of “I Don’t Care” was not giving a second thought about what listeners cared about the band, while this track is about getting tired of living in the limelight for so long. While the chunky bass and solid instrumentation are great on this song, Stump’s vocals during and after the bridge are by far the most standout part of this one.

“(Coffee’s For Closers)” is one of the strongest tracks on this record. Every instrument has its time to shine, with the drums taking the lead on this one, and then giving way slightly to the violins which shine through. Stump’s vocals are leaning more and more into soul music and this is some of his best work. The guitars during the chorus are no slouch either, but like most tracks on this record, they really step up their game during the latter half of the song. While originally titled “Never Believe”, this song gets its title from the 1992 film “Glengarry Glen Ross” where the term ‘closer’ is used to refer to someone who closes a sale. At a concert in Berlin, Wentz reveals that this song is about how it’s a song about cameras and pointing them in places where change is needed and not pointing them at celebrities going about their lives.

“What a Catch, Donnie” is the song that I associate most with this album. While all of the songs on this record are amazing in their own right, “What a Catch, Donnie” is the one that stands out the most. It was the only ballad the band had written at the time and it’s a powerful one at that. This track feels like a swan song for the band and it kind of was in a way due to the hiatus the band took after the release of this record. The song and title are a reference to Donny Hathaway, a legendary soul musician, and his long-time writing partner Roberta Flack. Lyrically, this song is about Wentz’s struggles with his mental health and the challenges he’s faced over the years. This is one of the few if not the only Fall Out Boy song to date that has a reprise in it. Elvis Costello guest stars on this song and sings part of the chorus from “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet”. It is worth noting that on the greatest hits collection “Believers Never Die”, Stump does sing this line due to legal issues. As for the rest of the track, several singers from the band’s label make an appearance singing songs from the band’s discography. There’s an outstanding effect where each song plays in one ear at a time. In order, the songs “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy” is sung by Gabe Saporta of “Cobra Starship”, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” is sung by Travie McCoy of “Gym Class Heroes”, “Dance Dance” is sung by Brendon Urie of “Panic! at the Disco”, “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” is sung by Doug Neumann, a manager of the label, “Thnks fr th Mmrs” is sung by Alexander DeLeon of “The Cab”, and finally “Growing Up” is sung by William Beckett of “The Academy Is…”. It’s the one song on this record that needs to be listened to with headphones. As for the instrumentation, the pianos hit you right in the heartstrings. The bass and guitar pair incredibly with the violins on this one, and while the drums take a back seat a bit, it’s necessary for this song to be as strong as it is. It’s a song all about how each band member is so important to one another and it shows. There are many easter eggs and nods to the rest of the band’s history in this music video and it’s well worth watching just to experience this song.

Immediately shifting gears is “27” which is a reference to the “27 Club”, a list of musicians who passed away at the age of 27 due to their lifestyle. Wentz was arguably living a similar kind of life to many of the members of the club and while he did make it past the age of 27, he did worry a lot of people. With the aggressive drums, bass, and guitar, it throws you for a bit of a loop if you’re listening to this album straight through. All around it’s a solid song with a stellar guitar solo, but jarring nevertheless. It does bleed into the next track as well.

“Tiffany Blews” features some guest appearances by Lil Wayne and Alexander DeLeon. The track makes some fun use of synths, and with some fun guitars and that chunky bass this album features a lot of, it’s a really enjoyable track. Lil Wayne’s is pretty unique but Stump’s vocals during that verse are the highlight. Wentz is basically calling attention to himself that he’s ‘THE’ crybaby, a hot mess, and how he doesn’t feel too unique.

With some funky synths and guitars, “w.a.m.s.” was produced in part with Pharrell Williams. The title stands for “waitress, actress, model, and singer”, which references the typical dream of many people living in L.A. and Hollywood who take jobs as waiters/waitresses until they make it big in the industry. You can definitely hear the funk and soul influences in this track from Williams, especially in the synth. This track features an instrumental break as well as some additional vocalization and it’s very much welcome. There’s also an outro where Stump is singing tacked to the end of this track where he’s essentially monologuing.

“20 Dollar Nose Bleed” features some guest vocals from Brendon Urie who sings along during the chorus. This is a delightful that has some super upbeat piano, guitar, and even some trumpets. It’s a song all about Benzedrine which is a type of amphetamine that’s used to help with either ADHD or with fatigue. Members of the band such as Wentz were known for using less than legal drugs and Benzedrine was probably one of them. This song does have an outro where Wentz relays to us a poem about some of the struggles he’s faced in his life. The outro also bleeds into the final track on the record.

Closing out the album is “West Coast Smoker”, a song featuring Debbie Harry. Cranking up the aggression a lot more, the track makes use of that heavy bass and a very unique synth. The chorus is just full of venom and the outro really brings the band back to their emo roots. To go along with the theme, the lyrics reflect the singer becoming completely unhinged, doing a lot of drugs, and just being a menace.

While this does mark the end of the album, the deluxe edition offers quite a few more tracks. There are a couple of remixes, a few acoustic versions of some of the singles, and even a cover, there’s one more song that we need to look at. “Pavlove” might just be one of the best songs on the record. With some aggressive stomping and clapping to start us off, Stump’s lovely vocalization gives way to some beautiful pianos, solid drums, and just wonderful guitars. The song gets its title from Ivan Pavlov, a scientist known for experiments in psychology. Combining this theme with love, it shows how we as humans can be conditioned and become addicted to someone, leading to some questionable decisions.

Final Thoughts

Once the black sheep of the Fall Out Boy discography, “Folie à Deux” has become one of the band’s most beloved records. 15 years later, this album still holds up incredibly well and shows that it will stand the test of time like many of the band’s records.

Reference:
NME: NME Video: Fall Out Boy — Track by Track

Album Score: 10/10
Favorite Tracks: “Disloyal Order of the Water Buffaloes”, “I Don’t Care”, “She’s My Winona”, “America’s Suitehearts”, “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet”, “(Coffee’s For Closers)”, “What a Catch, Donnie”, “20 Dollar Nose Bleed”, “Tiffany Blews”, “Pavlove”