Fall Out Boy "Mania" Album Review

Here’s a review I’ve been cautiously interested in over the last few months: it’s the latest Fall Out Boy album “Mania” (or, as the band stylizes it, M A  N   I    A. Too many spaces, Fall Out Boy, too many spaces). Fall Out Boy is a band that pretty much needs no introduction: one of the bigger pop-punk bands of the 2000s has survived extremely far into the 2010s and has seen continued mainstream success even to this day. And I have to admit, even with the group’s change in style over the years, they’ve remained one of my personal favorite bands, and one that I continue to listen to quite often. However, despite my love for the group, I was only cautiously interested in the album as the leadoff single “Young and Menace” severely underwhelmed me. Even so, it’s a group that I love and, at just under 36 minutes across ten tracks (all of them mostly being about 3 and a half minutes), it’s not gonna be all that long, it won’t overstay its welcome, it’ll probably be pretty contained and focused in what it wants to do, so I figured, why not take a look, right? So, let’s do that.

Young and Menace: This track is what I consider to be the poster child of “good ideas gone horribly wrong.” I like the really dark, eerie vibe the song gives off pretty early, and the pre-chorus really adds to that. Also, the lyrics that discuss being an outsider as a child are something that I’m sure many can relate to. However, everything goes completely awry when we hit the breakdown, and we hear the ear-bleeding screeching. And look, I wouldn’t be against the whole “beat drop into pumping breakdown” thing if it didn’t sound like a cat being strangled. I wanted to love this song, but unfortunately, the screeching cat in the microwave breakdown basically ruined the entire thing for me.

Champion: This song definitely sounds far more reminiscent of the “typical Fall Out Boy” sound, but beyond that, it’s a really enjoyable track. It’s head-noddy, I love the pounding drum beat on this one, and I like how well the song blends a darker, smaller sound with the really thrashing hook! Patrick Stump’s vocals are strong as always, and the uplifting lyrics about being able to do anything only work to compliment the song nicely. All in all, I had a lot of fun with this track and seeing that it was the second single from the album, it was definitely a much stronger single than “Young and Menace.”

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea: Another very uptempo, pounding, drumset-dominated song, this was another track I definitely had fun with. I like Patrick Stump’s flow throughout the track, and the song as a whole is really head-noddy. It’s one of those tracks that feels like a Fall Out Boy song but has enough different sounds to make it stand on its own from the group’s other tracks. I feel like I’ll definitely be coming back to this one a lot in the future.

HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T: Fall Out Boy doing a reggae-style song? Well, there really is a first for everything! But I’m not gonna lie, this is one of those songs I feel like I’m gonna BOP in the future. It’s just so bright, fun, and infectious, and again, it feels like something different, but still decidedly Fall Out Boy. I also love Patrick’s vocals a lot on this one, and as I said, I feel like this is gonna be one of those tracks that just ends up being too irresistible for me to ignore.

The Last of the Real Ones: A very bright, piano-driven love track with several connections to gravity, this one is definitely pretty fun, Patrick’s vocals are rock solid as always, and the piano melody is really bright and really nice. I don’t think it has the best hook on the album, and it’s not one of my favorite songs from the group, but it definitely feels pretty reminiscent of some of the songs from “Save Rock and Roll,” and all in all, I can say I did enjoy the track.

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes): A much more electronic song, I’m not as crazy about this one. It just feels like something that’s been done a few too many times before, and I’m not as crazy about Patrick’s more filtered vocals at various points in the song. It’s definitely a stronger EDM-based track than “Young and Menace” by a long shot, but all in all, it’s honestly one of the weaker songs on this album.

Church: Another love song, this time one with some more religious imagery, this one starts off a lot lighter but then quickly turns into a more epic, thrashing anthem of Patrick’s love. I don’t really find the hook all that memorable on this one, but I do like the very grand, epic feel of the track as a whole, and Patrick’s vocals are solid as usual. Not one of the group’s best, but it’s a pretty solid track overall.

Heaven’s Gate: A much slower, more soulful, and ballad-y track, this song talks about the Heaven’s Gate religious group that believed that UFOs would take humans when they die. It’s a strange subject matter to talk about, but the group more than makes it work with a punchy, swingy instrumental, a fun hook, and some typically powerful vocals from Patrick Stump. Definitely enjoyed this track overall.

Sunshine Riptide (ft. Burna Boy): Another bright, reggae-esque song, I love Patrick’s extremely charismatic vocal performance on this one, I think the hook is pretty fun overall, and I like the really upbeat, fun feel of the song. This is also the only song on the album that has a featured artist, that being Burna Boy, and his verse, while a bit hard to understand, is still pretty energetic and enjoyable. I liked this track quite a bit, I think I’ll be coming back to it in the future.

Bishops Knife Trick: Closing things off, we have a very bright track that references the film “Aliens” in the title. This is another track that feels a bit different from other Fall Out Boy songs, in that it feels a bit lighter and not as overly-thrashing, but at the same time, it again feels very Fall Out Boy, and personally, I love the track. It’s bright, it’s wonderfully performed by Patrick Stump, and the instrumental is really strong. Definitely a really strong, powerful finish to the album.

Overall, I’ve gotta say this album took me by surprise! After hearing the first single “Young and Menace,” I feared for the worse with this thing, but I’m not gonna lie, I actually enjoyed it! Granted, it helps that “Young and Menace” was really the only track with any huge cat-screeches, but still, it was actually a pretty solid record! Fall Out Boy takes a few detours into different territories with this album, and while some of these detours work better than others, the album definitely has some pretty memorable tracks and still feels very Fall Out Boy. I’d be lying if I said this is one of their best bodies of work, but it definitely has enough infectious, fun tracks to be a pretty entertaining entry in their canon. And even if you aren’t looking forward to this record, and weren’t all that into the singles, it’s still worth giving this thing a listen as, with it being a pretty divisive album, it’ll be worth it to see what side of the fence you sit on. Me? It’s not the greatest album they’ve produced, but all things considered, there’s plenty of fun to be had with “Mania.”

Fall Out Boy, great job proving me wrong. I owe ya one.

Favorite tracks: Champion, Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea, HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T, Heaven’s Gate, Sunshine Riptide, Bishops Knife Trick

Least favorite tracks: Young and Menace, Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)

Rating: Good