Fall Out Boy is a staple of our generation. I remember dancing to “Thnks Fr th Mmrs” at ten years old, playing “This ain’t a scene, It’s an arms race” as loud as my iPod would allow, dancing like fools with my friends to “Phoenix,” “Uma Thurman,” “My songs know what you did in the dark” and every song by the pop-punk sensation available.
Their latest LP, “Mania,” gives fans good reason to be excited. The LP features a mix of pop and punk beats and a few reggae too. Songs like “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)” mixes a slow steady beat with more punk lyrics, the chorus being “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” It is very reminiscent of their roots and easily one of my favorites from this drop.
“Hold me tight or don’t” is another really great song upbeat love song from the drop. It mixes pop elements, whistling and cool percussive beats and vocalizations with catchy lyrics “I take too many hits off this memory… this isn’t how our story ends, so hold me tight or don’t.” The kind of ‘drunk on your love’ song is common but only a few people can do it right, and Fall out Boy is definitely up there with greats like “Nicotine” by Panic! At the Disco, though it has a very different but equally exciting feel from Panic’s song.
My other favorites are “Young and menace.” This track will definitely be the foundation of many remixes. It has a funky techno chorus that is so popular right now that makes me want to dance. “The Last of the Real Ones” is such a cool song, it blends a romantic feel with a space aesthetic “I am a collapsing star, I was just an only child of the universe, you are the sun and I am just the planets spinning around you,” that is so much more impactful than any copycat romance song playing on the radio.
The rest of the LP was disappointing. “Sunshine Riptide” had a lot of potential, featuring a Nigerian reggae singer, Burna Boy. This was a surprisingly nice mix of the two styles, but Burna’s verse was so small and the song would have benefitted from more of him.
“Champion” is an uplifting song “If I can live through this I can do anything.” It is reminiscent of their last album. The rest of the songs, “Bishop Knife Trick,” “Church” and “Heaven’s Gate” all did not make a lot of sense and just felt off, like FOB needed one more song and they just threw one together at the last minute.
Overall, this LP was really interesting. There has been a definite growth in the band’s style and if they are going to continue putting out more bangers like this, they will continue to be a staple of our generation. The album is available on Spotify or for purchase through the Play Store or iTunes.
