“Wait, have I just pressed play on Plan B?”
It’s an understandable response to The Phoenix, the opening track of ‘Save Rock And Roll’, which uses
the same string sample as Plan B’s iLL
Manors. It’s a sample that
immediately brings a sense of urgency to the track, accompanying the lyrics “put
on your warpaint”; a track that begins the band’s first album since 2008’s ‘Folie
a Deux’. The phoenix metaphor isn’t easy
to miss – this is a blazing return to form.
That sample isn’t the only unusual point of interest
though. ‘Save Rock And Roll’ includes
numerous collaborations with other artists, like Big Sean rapping on The Mighty Fall and Courtney Love adding
her vocals to Rat A Tat (“it’s
Courtney bitch”). Most weird of all is
the collaboration with none other than Elton John on the title track that
closes the album. The gravitas of his
voice is odd enough on a punky Fall Out Boy track, but a predictable piano
ballad (with obligatory key change) jars with the whole idea of saving rock and
roll.
That said, ‘Save Rock And Roll’ is definitely on the pop end
of the rock spectrum, especially in comparison to their debut. Lead single My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (“I’m on FIRE”) is a strong
example of the band’s ability to write a catchy hook. See also Just
One Yesterday (“There’s a fire…” wait, that's Adele), Miss Missing You (with its Blondie inflections) and party anthem Where Did The Party Go. The influences on ‘Save Rock And Roll’ are
numerous and varied but only serve to strengthen the pop immediacy and
mainstream appeal of the band, even if the lyrics haven’t improved in the
process.
Clearly the five year hiatus has benefited the band. The song titles are shorter, the production is
more diverse, and the choruses are as tight and catchy as ever. It might be unlikely to save rock and roll,
but this is frothy pop fun - far more so than the album cover would have you believe.
3/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
* My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark
* Where Did The Party Go
* The Mighty Fall
Listen: ‘Save Rock And Roll’ is available now.
