Fall Out Boy close to an opus

By John Benson

The band is spending the better part of 2009 on the road.

In case you’re having

a hard time pronouncing the title of new Fall Out Boy album “Folie Deux,” you’re not alone.

“Yeah, if you can’t speak French fluently, then there is absolutely no point in trying to pronounce it,” said Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman, calling from Los Angeles. “Can I pronounce it? No. I just call it the new album. ‘Oh, you mean the new album?’ That’s what I’ll say in a conversation if it’s brought up to me.”

The title is actually an old psychiatric term that loosely means shared madness, which is quite apropos in describing the recent run of this Chicago-based act. The emo bellwether band, led by paparazzi-infatuated Pete Wentz, who last year married Ashlee Simpson, has seemingly cashed in its platinum selling currency on “Folie Deux.” In fact, when it’s pointed out the new kitchen-sink effort appears to be the band’s version of an indulgent director’s cut movie, Trohman picks up on the idea.

“Like everything Quentin Tarantino does?” laughed Trohman, who spent his elementary school years living in Chagrin Falls and South Russell. “Maybe a little bit, but we’re all really proud of this record. It’s probably collectively our most favorite record, and personally I got to indulge a little bit, but I wouldn’t say this is like our three-hour director’s cut.

“This is like us still trying to satiate our fans because Fall Out Boy is still there within the music, even through some of the more kind of eclectic moments. Nonetheless, I think we’re still on that path to what we might call an opus one day and everyone else might call [expletive]. You never know.”

Close to an opus is right. While the band’s 2007 effort “Infinity on High” was oddly more of an R&B and dance record, “Folie Deux” feels like it is the outfit’s “Sgt. Pepper’s,” only on steroids. Some of the new album’s songs literally have 100 studio tracks on them. In fact, there is so much clutter that Trohman admits he often has a hard time hearing everything the band cut for the project.

Perhaps more importantly for Fall Out Boy, it all seems to work. Or to be more precise, it all fits within the Fall Out Boy world. There’s the Queen-inspired, over-the-top “Headfirst Slide” and the guitar-fueled “What a Catch.” The latter track features a guest appearance by Elvis Costello, while Lil Wayne joins the fun on “Tiffany Blews” and Debbie Harry appears on “West Coast Smoker.”

Now comes the fun for Trohman and company as the act is spending the better part of 2009 on the road. You can see Fall Out Boy Tuesday at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City. When it’s pointed out to Trohman that his band has come a long way from its emo roots, even suggesting it’s now a straight pop act, the guitarist doesn’t agree.

“No, I think that’s inaccurate but, at the same time, I don’t go out there and judge our own band by genre,” Trohman said. “When I did that as a child it kept me from being exposed to other forms of music, and now as a musician I don’t let genres get in the way. But I think it’s easier to swallow when it’s put in a genre. So whether it’s pop, emo or rock, it doesn’t really matter as long as people swallow it and enjoy it.”

if you go

Who: Fall Out Boy with Metro Station, Cobra Starship and All Time Low

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City, 351 Canal Road, Cleveland

Tickets: $36 at Ticketmaster outlets