The Chicago band’s eighth album sees them both advancing their sound and acknowledging their roots
Fall Out Boy’s eighth album, ‘So Much (For) Stardust’, opens with delicate piano keys, cinematic string arrangements, and vocalist Patrick Stump singing with an angry edge. As the tempo picks up, the Chicago band’s fast-paced lyrics follow and Stump insists, “I’ll never go / I just wanna be invited” just before he sings “My love from the other side of the apocalypse”. Sending”. ‘Love From the Other Side’ is a strong debut for the band’s first collection of music in more than five years, gently (then suddenly) pulling itself back on the pop-punk rollercoaster that FOB has found itself on for two decades Tied up a long time ago.
‘So Much (For) Stardust’ marks many returns for the band, and not just back to their larger-than-life roots. Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley taped Fueled By Ramen [Paramore, Meet Me @ The Altar] for release, marking the first time they’d recorded their debut, The Notorious Emo Label, since 2003. Have worked with. Take it to your grave’. The band went back into the studio with Neil Avron, who lent his production to some of FOB’s biggest moments such as 2005’s ‘From Under the Cork Tree’, 2007’s ‘Infinity on High’ and 2008’s ‘Folie à Deux’.
The band’s last album, 2018’s ‘Mania’, saw them travel “a world away from the smart pop punk” of their first release, even embracing EDM with their track ‘Young and Menace’. But with their latest collection, Vikas looks less like breaking away from its past and more like learning from and expanding on it.
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But even the album’s heaviest moments give fans something unexpected. Take second track ‘Hold Me Like a Grudge’, which rocks with retro disco funk, elevating the ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ bass line with distorted guitars on the bridge. ‘Heaven, Iowa’ takes on a slowly building flamboyant percussion similar to Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’ before Stump shouts: “The trail crossed the lovers forever / I cross myself forever.” Checking for”. ‘I’m My Own Muse’ incorporates a full orchestra as it plays soaring chords and gritty guitars, similar to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’. It’s an album full of audacious leaps, and they make the most of them.
Speaking of audacity, the album features a song that isn’t a song at all, but a playback of a speech given by Ethan Hawke in the 1994 film Reality Bites. ‘The Pink Seashell’ sees Hawke’s character dwelling on the mundaneness and meaninglessness of life. The band recently explained that their latest offering is a measure of that kind of thinking, a way of finding purpose by creating something new. Fitting, isn’t it?
‘So Much (For) Stardust’ brings back 2000s nostalgia without the gimmicks. It doesn’t take itself too seriously: see the spoken word introduction of “Baby Annihilation”‘s “A Crocodile Prince with Crocodile Tears”. A rock titan set with the task of furthering his sound in a way that can still appease the sensibilities of lifelong fans can be daunting, but Fall Out Boy pulls it off.
Details
- Release date: March 24, 2023
- Record label: Fueled by Ramen / Elektra
