“You will remember me./ Remember me for centuries.” The catchy hook in the chorus of Fall Out Boy’s hit single “Centuries” pertains to the band and the ever-increasing success of their new album “American Beauty/American Psycho.” Fall Out Boy has done nothing but succeed in the past two years following their five-year hiatus. Their latest album, released Jan. 16, is still the number-one selling album in the alternative genre on iTunes and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 200. The album is the band’s third number-one album, selling 192,000 copies within a week of being released. It’s not hard to see why this album is still dominating the charts.
“American Beauty” is a new sound for the band. As someone who fell in love with Fall Out Boy’s older music, I wasn’t sure what to expect from “American Beauty” I’d heard “Centuries” and “Immortals” several times, and they were both extremely promising. After giving the album a listen all the way through, I mean it when I say that Fall Out Boy has done it again. Every song has its own unique sound, but as different as they are from each other, they all work together to form a great album. What I found most appealing about the album is that each song sounds so different, so you really have no clue what to expect when listening. I honestly believe that there’s a song on this album will appeal to everyone.
Personally, my favorite songs off the album are “Centuries,” “Immortals,” “Fourth of July” and “Records.” “Centuries” was released first in October 2014 as a single off of the album and continues to dominate the radio stations and the charts. For me, “Centuries” was promising for the album; it bears a certain similarity to the band’s punk-rock roots. The guitars, the beat, the lyrics, everything about “Centuries” make it an amazing song. I find it to be a self-empowering song, but I’ll let you listen to it and interpret it how you want. With absolute certainty, I am willing to boldly say that the success of “American Beauty” was largely due to the fact that “Centuries” was the first single to be released. Had it been any other song off the album, “American Beauty” would not be nearly as successful as it is and continues to be.
“Immortals” is the second single from the album and was the theme song in Disney’s new movie, “Big Hero 6.” Now, to be quite honest, I’m not sure what genre of music “Immortals” falls under, but it sounds like a mix between punk-rock due to the instruments. However, the beat is very obviously synthesized, so in that respect it can be thought to be more electronic. This is one of the songs from “American Beauty” that deviates from the band’s punk-rock sound of the early 2000s. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for them to be experimenting and exploring different genres of music; I like “Immortals” because it’s so different.
And that’s just the thing. The unique sound of each song contributes to the overall sound of the album to create something new. I really like the diversity that this album has to offer to listeners. In a way, it’s a historic album for the band. They’re changing their sound and they’re making it work for them. From pop to punk-rock to alternative, “American Beauty” has it all. As someone who listens to a little bit of every genre of music, it’s extremely hard to find an entire album that appeals to me. Usually, I like a couple songs, but this is one of the few recent albums I actually like enough to want to buy the whole album. While I can’t say that I love every single song on “American Beauty/American Psycho,” I do like the album as a whole enough to listen to it several times, and I can’t wait to hear what they create next.
