Regressing Back into My Emo Phase: Fall Out Boy’s Infinity On High Turns 15

By Izzy Desmarais

I have never been a religious person, but all throughout middle school, I worshiped the Holy Emo Trinity. Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance were iconic, but Fall Out Boy has always been my favorite.

Sunday, February 6th, 8:30PM. I was lazily scrolling through the promotions tab of my email and procrastinating when I see it: an email from Fall Out Boy (yes, I am still on their mailing list back from when I was twelve and desperate for tour presale codes) announcing limited edition merch for Infinity On High’s 15th anniversary. I was only 4 years old when it first came out and wasn’t yet drooling over young Pete Wentz and his eyeliner, but this album turning 15 years old still feels like a huge deal to me. I have a huge soft spot for Infinity On High, mostly because it never got enough love from my middle school friend group. Folie à Deux was the one they always attached themselves to, since it was the last album before their hiatus and more obvious departure from the pop-punk genre. Even though I couldn’t quite articulate it back then, something in my sixth grade brain was telling me this was an important album. 

After giving into the fangirl urge to buy a commemorative Infinity On High t-shirt, I decided to revisit the album since I couldn’t remember the last time I had listened to it in full. As I sit here and write this article, I can honestly say that I have listened to this album roughly twelve times within the past week. Sixth grade me was right, Infinity On High is important. It signified a turning point for Fall Out Boy, giving fans a glimpse of what’s to come in their genre-defying career.

Two months after their tour ended for From Under The Cork Tree, the band was already back in the studio working on their next album. Fans and critics alike were anxious to see what Fall Out Boy would come up with next, considering the great success they achieved with their sophomore album, including a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Infinity On High received positive critical response and achieved great commercial success with singles like “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” and “Thnks fr th Mmrs.” However, many critics wondered if this deviation from their typical sound in favor of something slightly more digestible would deter fans. As I read old reviews, I came across some rather negative opinions that scornfully regarded Infinity On High as a pop record. To that I say, so what if it is a pop record? Because it’s a damn good one.

Fall Out Boy explores funk and R&B, working with artist Babyface to produce “Thnks fr th Mmrs” and “I’m Like a Lawyer with the Way I’m Trying to Get You Off (Me & You).” Album opener “Thriller” drives this home by starting with a spoken word introduction from Jay-Z The track serves as a recap of the past three years, responding to the critical and commercial success of From Under The Cork Tree.. Lead singer Patrick Stump follows Jay-Z, singing “Last summer, we took threes across the board / But by fall, we were a cover story, ‘Now in stores!’ / Make us poster boys for your scene / But we are not making an acceptance speech.” It’s a smart way to start the album, easing listeners into their new sound without straying too much away from their roots just yet. Popular tracks “‘Take Over, The Breaks Over’” and “Hum Hallelujah” are also in the same punk vein that their fans were familiar with, along with later tracks “Fame < Infamy” and “You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave.” 

Stump has been quoted calling lead single “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arm Race” “the funkiest thing [they have] ever done.” The singles for Infinity On High were the most mainstream songs off the album, and I feel like hardcore Fall Out Boy tend to scoff at these tracks because of that, but I don’t understand why. They are perfect examples of a band successfully exploring genres outside of what they’re known for. And besides, they’re really fucking good songs, why disregard them just because they’re popular? 

There are more pop-forward tracks like “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?” and “The (After) Life of the Party”— which is one of my favorite songs off the album, detailing the dual personality of an outgoing person that everyone loves to hang out with at a party but struggles to be with themself once everyone goes home. With one of Stump’s most impressive vocal deliveries and a poetic lyricism that the entire band had a hand in writing, the bridge is the most impactful part of this song: “I'm a stitch away from making it / And a scar away from falling apart, apart / Blood cells pixelate and eyes dilate / Kiss away young thrills and kills on the mouths of all my friends.” It gives me chills every time. 

Other tracks can be read as one-off attempts at various genres that Fall Out Boy hadn’t explored before. “Golden” is a heartbreaking ballad, “The Carpal Tunnel of Love” is Fall Out Boy’s version of a metal song, and I honestly couldn’t tell you what genre “Bang The Doldrums” is, but it’s a lot of fun to scream along to. The final song on Infinity On High is another funky, soul inspired track, “I’ve Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers,” which demonstrates Stump’s incredible vocal range with a persistent falsetto in the chorus. Paired with some of the most brutally honest lyrics I have ever heard —“The truth hurts worse / Than anything I could bring myself to do to you”— makes this the best album closer in Fall Out Boy’s discography. It is arguably their most ambitious song to date; melding genres with the use of heavy guitar, horns, an upbeat piano, and Stump’s dynamic voice makes for a grand ending to an already stellar album. 

B-sides “G.I.N.A.S.F.S.” and “It’s Hard to Say ‘I Do,’ When I Don’t” are amazing songs and it's heartbreaking that they didn’t make it onto the official tracklist. “I’m Like a Lawyer with the Way I’m Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)” has been described as “about as close to a love song you’ll get from [Fall Out Boy],” but I think “G.I.N.A.S.F.S.” is just as romantic, maybe even more so. The song is written from the perspective of a recently heartbroken narrator, but the love they still have for their ex-lover is clear throughout. The chorus is especially gut wrenching: “Things aren't the same anymore / Some nights it gets so bad that I almost pick up the phone / Trade Baby Blues, for Wide-Eyed Browns / I sleep with your old shirts / And walk through this house in your shoes / I know it's strange / It's a strange way of saying that I know I'm supposed to love you.” I feel as though this song would not only hold its own on the official tracklist, but also attract the attention of devoted fans as it stays more in line with their former pop-punk sound. The same goes for “It’s Hard to Say ‘I Do,’ When I Don’t,” which dives into the less than glamorous feelings that come with being famous—“You’re appealing to emotions that I simply do not have / I've got the red carpet blues, baby.” It would have been extremely interesting to see the critical response had this song been on the official tracklist, considering this album was following a super successful record and the opener addresses that experience in a much more positive way.

For the rest of February, I invite all of my fellow former emo kids to celebrate Infinity On High and give it another listen if they haven’t in a while. Time has not been this album’s best friend, as fans seem to only remember singles that dominated the radio and likely got tired of hearing over and over. Revisiting Infinity On High will not only be a nostalgic experience, but surprising as well. While you may have had some questionable fashion choices when you were 12, you did have a superb taste in music.