KEY POINTS:
Rating: * * *
To describe Pete Wentz as an enigma would be to make him far more interesting than he really is. But the eyeliner-wearing bassist, and primary lyricist for Fall Out Boy, certainly raises the odd question.
Was he being ironic when he wrote, "Nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy" - given the band's role as flagbearers of the emo movement? What about when he writes, "I don't care what you think as long as it's about me."
Is he joking about his often reported narcissism? Or is he actually a megalomaniac?
As the headline-grabbing poster boy of the band, it's impossible to listen to the record without pondering these queries, which creates a pesky distraction from an otherwise playful and polished album.
Once a bona fide pop punk outfit, this fifth studio album completes the band's gradual conversion to a straight pop 'n' roll group.
Frontman Patrick Stump's confidence and enthusiasm for new sounds and genres brings an easy sense of fun to the album, regularly breaking into falsetto and adding swooping harmonies to the mix.
The slower, piano-driven melodrama of What a Catch, Donnie and horn-laden, hand-clapping pop of 20 Dollar Nose Bleed earn honours as the album's best moments.
But with five bonus tracks - including an unnecessary cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It - the record is painfully self-indulgent, clocking in at one hour 20 minutes.
Big hooks and a star line-up of guest stars (Elvis Costello sings on What a Catch and Debbie Harry on West Coast Smoker) give the album a shinier gloss than previous efforts but they can't conceal the distraction of Wentz.
Joanna Hunkin
