Album review: Fall Out Boy, Mania

Fall Out Boy for their new album Mania. Photo / Supplied (Universal)

Fall Out Boy really tested their fans with this one, mainly because of the first release, Young and Menace.

The lead single was a chopped-up EDM track which sounded like Fall Out Boy had been mugged by Skrillex and Britney Spears and left for dead.

Thankfully, the rest of the album didn't go the same way. It may be a messy melting pot of pop, R&B, hip-hop, soul and EDM, but it still feels like a Fall Out Boy album.

Patrick Stump's voice gets better with every release and on Heaven's Gate he finally gets his chance to really belt out the kind of soul music his voice is made for.

Pete Wentz's lyrics remain as grim as ever despite the new, much lighter pop sound with statements such as "I got rage every day on the inside...I'm trying to blow out the pilot light".

And the band continues to throw out pop culture references like no one's business, most notably the "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour" hook on Wilson - a nod to The Addams Family.

There are also nods to Aliens, Moonrise Kingdom and even (presumably) new release I, Tonya with "I'll go Tonya Harding on the whole world's knee".

The lyricism on Mania does feel clunkier than usual ("Are you smelling that shit?
Eau de resistance") but it's hard to tell if that's because Wentz is slipping or I've just outgrown his old 2000s charm.

Overall, Mania is...fine. It's not the steaming trash-pile that was expected off the back of Young and Menace, nor is it a particularly great release, though it has great moments.

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea sounds like old-school Fall Out Boy, the hook on Hold Me Tight or Don't is just catchy enough to keep you from hating it, Wilson feels like an ode to the emo days and Bishop's Knife Trick feels the most authentically Fall Out Boy.

At any rate, there's something to be said for the fact that these guys are still around and charting, this many reinventions in.

Fall Out Boy, Mania

Artist: Fall Out Boy
Album: Mania
Label: Universal Music
Verdict: A risky mash-up of genres but still Fall Out Boy at heart.