Do you remember back in 2013, when FALL OUT BOY shocked the world and underwent what many called a renaissance? Their surprise come-back album “Save Rock And Roll” was not only a glorious return to form, chock full of tunes but it was also a mission statement…if you caught them live on that tour, the title track, ironically a moving ballad, was a call to arms…the stage production would show black and white images of icons such as Freddie Mercury, Sid Vicious, Kurt Cobain and many more, as if to say don’t let the music die, literally save rock and roll from the music industry…and everyone thought that this was the beginning of something special; a resurgence in rock music across the board, and in many ways it was…just…not for Fall Out Boy…after the 50/50 reception of follow up album “American Beauty/ American Psycho” which many described as a mishmash of songs lacking real direction, we find them in 2018 dropping another new album by the name of “M A N I A”…this one was delayed because they themselves felt it was rushed…was it worth the wait?
We open up with the first single “Young And Menace” and…this is an interesting direction to say the least. After a seemingly dreary, slow build to the track with sombre tones and an impassioned, angst ridden feel, we descend into a totally distorted, techno riddled breakdown of a chorus…it’s positively shapeless…it’s like the chipmunks dropped acid and hijacked a SKRILLEX sample…it’s honestly fucking horrendous! Luckily the follow up track is far more recognisable as the FOB we love and expect…”Champion” has a similarly slow intro but the guitar here is gritty and in ways reminds me of early KAISER CHIEFS…there’s more attitude here and despite the clear pop-production it’s got enough of that early emo-rock feel to stand out as a brand new classic and is bound to go down well live, this is much better. The same can be said for “The Last Of The Real Ones”…an up-beat energetic number with a really enjoyably catchy hook and huge sing-along chorus, this is massive FOB by numbers and the level of quality we recognise…
The trouble though is that, besides these two undeniable tunes, the album falls right back onto its arse and leaves the listener thinking, what the hell are FOB trying to achieve? “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” just feels like they picked random words out of a hat…granted the message is one of today’s cut-throat culture, the competition for stardom and the spotlight with a really obscure reference to the 1994 US figure skating scandal (And I thought I made weird analogies) but again they opt to utilise a pulsing, bass-driven EDM foundation for the track…”Hold Me Tight Or Don’t” and “Sunshine Riptide” both jump on the bandwagon regarding Caribbean structured pop, tinny guitar, the subtle steel-drum tones and rhythm…it’s something a lot of mainstream artists have done recently so in all likeliness it’s a dig but it still doesn’t make it worth listening to, even ironically. “Heaven’s Gate” has this soulful, gospel inspired blues tone, before closing track “Bishops Knife Trick” ends proceedings on a predominantly lulling note…and another random reference; this time to “Alien”. A song of journey; torn between the feeling of freedom to explore and knowing where you call home, in ways summarising the album from a creative standpoint really rather well. FOB in ways here simply come across as oxymoronic…their save rock and roll gimmick went out the fucking window let’s be clear on that, and this album is almost a parody of itself. It sounds like the band are ribbing mainstream pop culture but the joke flew over everyone’s heads as it just blends in with the very thing they are ribbing…”M A N I A” in ways just reminds me of “Insania” by PETER ANDRE…he thought he had something new, something fresh and exciting but, it wasn’t. [5]
We open up with the first single “Young And Menace” and…this is an interesting direction to say the least. After a seemingly dreary, slow build to the track with sombre tones and an impassioned, angst ridden feel, we descend into a totally distorted, techno riddled breakdown of a chorus…it’s positively shapeless…it’s like the chipmunks dropped acid and hijacked a SKRILLEX sample…it’s honestly fucking horrendous! Luckily the follow up track is far more recognisable as the FOB we love and expect…”Champion” has a similarly slow intro but the guitar here is gritty and in ways reminds me of early KAISER CHIEFS…there’s more attitude here and despite the clear pop-production it’s got enough of that early emo-rock feel to stand out as a brand new classic and is bound to go down well live, this is much better. The same can be said for “The Last Of The Real Ones”…an up-beat energetic number with a really enjoyably catchy hook and huge sing-along chorus, this is massive FOB by numbers and the level of quality we recognise…
The trouble though is that, besides these two undeniable tunes, the album falls right back onto its arse and leaves the listener thinking, what the hell are FOB trying to achieve? “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” just feels like they picked random words out of a hat…granted the message is one of today’s cut-throat culture, the competition for stardom and the spotlight with a really obscure reference to the 1994 US figure skating scandal (And I thought I made weird analogies) but again they opt to utilise a pulsing, bass-driven EDM foundation for the track…”Hold Me Tight Or Don’t” and “Sunshine Riptide” both jump on the bandwagon regarding Caribbean structured pop, tinny guitar, the subtle steel-drum tones and rhythm…it’s something a lot of mainstream artists have done recently so in all likeliness it’s a dig but it still doesn’t make it worth listening to, even ironically. “Heaven’s Gate” has this soulful, gospel inspired blues tone, before closing track “Bishops Knife Trick” ends proceedings on a predominantly lulling note…and another random reference; this time to “Alien”. A song of journey; torn between the feeling of freedom to explore and knowing where you call home, in ways summarising the album from a creative standpoint really rather well. FOB in ways here simply come across as oxymoronic…their save rock and roll gimmick went out the fucking window let’s be clear on that, and this album is almost a parody of itself. It sounds like the band are ribbing mainstream pop culture but the joke flew over everyone’s heads as it just blends in with the very thing they are ribbing…”M A N I A” in ways just reminds me of “Insania” by PETER ANDRE…he thought he had something new, something fresh and exciting but, it wasn’t. [5]
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