Fall Out Boy - 'This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race' (Mercury) Released 29/01/07

An arrangement N*SYNC would have been proud of, verses reminiscent of Maroon 5, a chorus straight from the ‘Blink 182 For Dummies’ manual (with added Woo-Woos) and lyrics that make as much sense as Chantelle’s autobiography. Sounds absolutely horrible, doesn’t it? Well, yes in fact. So why oh why is Fall Out Boy’s latest single so damn catchy?

There’s something inexplicably infectious from the off, as the tempo chugs along with a funky beat that would have Jake Shears reaching for the nearest leotard and feather boa. Then, just as you’re about to check you’re listening to the right band…the punk/power pop chorus kicks in, and it all becomes even more confusing. Eventually, you give up trying to make sense of it and embrace it. “At night we're painting your trash gold while you sleep/Crashing not like hips or cars, No, more like parties.” Your guess is as good as mine…

Warning: you may be queuing up with a flock of 14-year-old girls dripping in Kohl eyeliner to purchase this, your mates will brand you emo and shun you, you may have bottles of piss thrown at you. If you can live with these eventualities, feel free to file this under ‘guilty pleasures’. We won’t tell, everyone will hate it in a month and deny owning it anyway.