Punk has always been made to be atypical in both approach and presentation. In 2013, however, few would expect Fall Out Boy, the once-TRL darling pop-punk five-piece, and Ryan Adams, one of the most prolific genre-crossing musicians of our generation, to come together to release a hardcore, punk EP. In this case, the presentation, approach and the collaboration is anything but expected.
As if made in a perfectly hasty, indirect response to the vitriol spread by once-loyal fans (myself included), “Love, Sex, Death” is the perfect foil to Save Rock and Roll as the actual rock ‘n’ roll that needs to be resurrected. Given their radio success with mega-hit “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up),” Fall Out Boy’s upcoming PAX AM Days is finally the unlikely harbinger of the same message they set out to spread.
It’s hard to determine who to chalk this reinvigorated reincarnation of the band to. Adams, always the prolific eccentric, is no stranger to the hard stuff, writing under his black metal project Werewolph and releasing 2010’s space odyssey thrash concept album Orion. But while Adams as known in the mainstream scope as the voice behind “that ‘Wonderwall’ cover” and the uncannily-timed video for 2001’s “New York, New York,” he’s made significant ventures into hardcore and punk with The Finger, formed in 2002 with Heart Attack’s Jesse Malin.
