Fall Out Boy have consistently remained a fun pop/rock group throughout their [near] fifteen year career. More recently they returned to commercial acclaim with Save Rock and Roll, reaching similar mainstream success as with Infinity On High, and looking to continue this resurgence in form, they’re prepped to release American Beauty/American Psycho– their sixth studio album.

While the album’s general gist remains the same, American Beauty/American Psycho is in the most-part refreshing. The group stick to what they do best, but every now and again they’ll nod at something a little less straightforward- the near-cheesy riff and construction of The Kids Aren’t Alright, longs for a place on a romantic comedy breakup scene, while Immortals proclaims inspiration from the likes of Muse.

Fusions of robotics squirm into Favourite Record like with Linking Park’s singles for the Transformers series, and these little blips of production disguises American Beauty/American Psycho from being a pop record. While the album is as tuneful, likeable and instantly infectious as you might imagine from a band like Fall Out Boy, it’s a clear example of how a band can be so consistent- by giving the fans exactly what they like.

At times Stump’s vocals come across as nothing but strenuous; like he’s right at the limit of his vocal capability, but when he’s not near-running out of breath such as with the title track, his vocals remain key to the infectious aura of what remains one of the most likeable rock bands out there at the moment. Really creepy album cover though.

Verdict – WWWV