Album Review: Fall Out Boy – Mania (Island Records)

Released on January 19th 2018 via Island Records, Mania is the newest album from the chart topping band, Fall Out Boy.

Fall Out Boy’s new album is an appalling piece of work, one with a shockingly amount of poor tracks that even the hardcore faithful would struggle to enjoy. This is a band moving so far away from their pop-rock roots that they’re barely recognisable.

Opening with the horror show that is Young and Menace, an EDM track that references Britney Spears’ ‘Oops! …I Did It Again’. Quite simply the worst song that Fall Out Boy have ever put to record. The chipmunk singing is so terrible it’s a wonder anyone makes it past this track.

It’s a setup for an album that is heavy on variety but also the sound of a band experimenting with no real end destination in mind. We get rap with light pop-rock, R&B, Reggae & heavy use of electronic beats with the occasional throwback meant to appease the hardcore.

Going off this album, there is a genuine debate regarding Fall Out Boy’s rock credentials. Far more interested in playing to the lowest common denominator of what can be called rock music. That it’s actually a relief to hear bland & basic pop-rock with the likes of Champion & Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) is a sure sign that Fall Out Boy have overdone it here with the electronica.

There are very few redeeming features in Mania. There are no hooks, no memorable melodies & no clever lyrics (‘I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour’ is painful in its self-parodying way).

There’s an audience for Mania. It’s just not the ones that have been with the band from the start. A lot of these tracks will fit perfectly on a hip new car advert or as a build up for a big sporting event. If that’s what Fall Out Boy we’re going for…well, they nailed it.

Fall Out Boy – Mania Full Track Listing:

1. Young and Menace
2. Champion
3. Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea
4. HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T
5. The Last of the Real Ones
6. Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)
7. Church
8. Heaven’s Gate
9. Sunshine Riptide (feat. Burna Boy)
10. Bishops Knife Trick

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Check out the album yourself via Apple Music below.