The popular band, Fall Out Boy, who are known for their song “Centuries,” released a new album this past Friday. Originally, the album was supposed to be released in 2017, but the artists felt that the album wasn’t ready for its revelation. Then, after having a lot of patience, they released the album on Jan. 19, 2018. Some fans, like me, were pleasantly surprised by the different-sounding album, while others went to Twitter to showcase their hate for it.
https://twitter.com/yolanda_m1/status/955494801088147456
This year I will be attending my NINTH @falloutboy concert💜💜💜 I could not be more excited. Also I appreciate them moving forward, but not forgetting the past. @petewentz #maniatour #falloutboy
— EMIE🌶 (@callmelou91) January 22, 2018
Other fans — again, like myself — were too excited about Fall Out Boys’ Mania Tour, which was announced with the release of the album. I took the weekend to listen to the album’s songs on repeat and have developed the following opinions about it:
The album, as a whole, lives up to its name, MANIA, because it is a mix of beats, moods and lyrics.
There is no doubt that the album’s different sound is unprecedented, but, as Patrick Stump put it: experimenting with different sounds is “what we do here in Fall Out Boy.”
The song “Hold Me Tight Or Don’t” has a very Shakira-like beat and is also one of the most party-type songs on the entire album. The music video for it showcases a big party and good tunes. The song manages to ask difficult questions, like “were we ever friends,” while causing the listener to want to get out of their seat and dance their heart out.
The deepest song, in my opinion, is “Church.” “Church” is a song in which you can feel everything, from the lyrics to the actual video. Along with the music video, the church shown in the video is gorgeous, representing the meaning. An example of the feelings shown is right in the beginning of the music video, where Patrick Stump compares his love interest to a church. “If you were a church, I’d… confess my love [and] know where to be” was a great metaphor used in the song that anyone can relate to, whether the listener is religious or not.
“Heaven’s Gate” and “Bishop’s Knife Trick” were my two personal favorites, because they look toward a brighter future. The pre-chorus in “Heaven’s Gate” is about someone who picks themselves up and tries to do better. “You’re out in the world, start over again and again as many times as you can” were definitely the best lyrics, which easily spoke out to me and could speak out to anyone else listening to the song, whether they had the song on repeat or listened to it once. As for “Bishops Knife Trick,” the ending was phenomenal; Patrick Stump sang that the song was one of “[t]he last blues we’re ever gonna have… Let’s see how deep we’ll get… To the places that we never should have left.” This finale signaled for a better and brighter future, which was a memorable ending to a completely different album.
The album starts off with a good vibe, progresses to a completely different tone and then returns with the hopes of a much brighter future. The more you listen to it, the more ways there are left for your interpretation. At the end of the day, the wait for this incredible album was worth it, so do yourself a favor and listen to MANIA. This collection of music was the best way for Fall Out Boy to re-enter the spotlight.
