*** (out of 4)
Fall Out Boy has a new single, as you might have heard. The band announced both an album ("Save Rock and Roll") and a reunion Monday by making sure to point out that this is NOT a reunion because "we never broke up," as they say on their website. So yeah, just for the record.
Like many FOB songs, it's weighed down by a terrible, wordy title "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)." It opens with a blippy, Ke$ha-esque sample, a soaring background "WHOOOO--OOOOOAAAAAHHH" and some thumping drums--which is to say, this song doesn't mess around. The group's gratuitous pop-punk sound remains, but the wishy-washy teen angst is gone, replaced by the flames (literally) of anger and a whole lot of "[bleep] it."
When Patrick Stump sings "fire," he actually screams "FI-YAA" over an abrasive guitar riff to make a very hair-metal sound, and that's a compliment. The whole thing, as ridiculous as it sounds, is very radio-friendly, with its dance-ish beat and a really rousing hook. It's what you would want from FOB in 2013.
Also, 2 Chainz randomly stars in the music video and burns a bunch of FOB records with a flamethrower, so that's pretty much an all-around win.
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