It's been three years since Fall Out Boy's previous album 'American Beauty/ American Psycho' with 2018 ushering in a new and refreshing sounding new album
'M A  N   I    A'. The feedback from fans has definitely been mixed with a new, more electronic Fall Out Boy sound, which for me works incredibly well.


The album opens with 'Young And Menace', a track that individually highlights the amount of progression in the band's sound and therefore may be the most divisive song on the album. However having said that, it works brilliantly as an introductory song to 'M A  N   I    A' setting the tone and pace incredibly for the album to come. It's hard hitting and powerful, building up beautifully as the track progresses. The pace set in 'Young And Menace' is carried through into 'Champion', one of my personal favourites on the album. It's such an empowering and feel good song, a common theme throughout particularly in the album's sound in its ability to ensure you move. 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' is especially hard hitting and groovy, the formation of the track is amazing at making the listener unable to sit still - this song would most likely sound incredible live! I especially love Patrick Stump's French accent in certain lines.


'Hold Me Tight Or Don't' can feel like it falls short after 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea's' impact, but manages to carry the grooviness through, especially in the chorus, even if it does drop slightly for the first time. 'The Last Of The Real Ones' is another favourite of mine. The pace picks up from keys to begin into a built up chorus, layering the synths and more traditional rock instruments beautifully. It carries the pace of the album without being too intense or sudden after the drop in 'Hold Me Tight Or Don't' and is definitely groovy! 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)' allows for the pace to drop again and gives the audience a brief respite, offering similar sounds to tracks previously gone by. Having said that, I do like the line 'I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour.' 'Church' brings the pace back somewhat but doesn't particularly stand out to me. 'Heaven's Gate' provides the first proper break for listeners, with its much slower pace and larger focus on keys. Rock elements are still present throughout but there's a much larger ballad like focus, allowing Patrick to really show off his vocal range. 'Sunshine Riptide' has a large synth focus, the most of any song on 'M A  N   I    A' which I quite like as a fan of synth sounds. Again, it doesn't largely stand out to me but is definitely funky. The track also features Burna Boy, dropping the second verse. 'Bishops Knife Trick' is the final song on the album and therefore has to try and close a dominating album. It captures the major themes and sounds of the album brilliantly - I often don't realise it's the closing song because of how well it blends. It again has a large synth focus but it works well for the song.
Overall, 'M A  N   I    A' presents the evolution in Fall Out Boy's sound over the past three years, for me personally it works really well. A few songs feel a little repetitive but the majority of songs are hard hitting and fun to listen to. The first half of the album is better for fitting to these themes, with the second offering a slower pace and larger synth focus which may not be as appealing to older Fall Out Boy fans.

Listen/Buy 'M A  N   I    A' 
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