Rating: 4 /5 stars

Rock and roll made a comeback with the seventh album from Fall Out Boy, titled “M A N I A.” Having been on the scene since their first album in 2003, the band has since released hits like “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” “Thnks fr th Mmrs,” “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up),” “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” and “Centuries,” The band has also released songs featuring the talents of Brendon Urie, Demi Lovato, and Sir Elton John. “M A N I A” also referred to as “The Purple One,” earned Fall Out Boy’s fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart this past week.

“Young And Menace,” the album’s first single released on April 27, 2017, set a unique tone for the long-awaited album. “And I lived so much life, lived so much life / I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice / Kill me twice like my name was Nikki Sixx.” Breaking down into a chopped sample, the instrumentals and backdrops for “Young And Menace” is something that had been widely seen by Fall Out Boy, letting it be known to expect something new in itself.

“HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T” opens with an immediately addictive intro. Vocalist Patrick Stump told Kerrang! Magazine regarding the tune, “Pete and I have been messing around with reggae for a while – it’s in that spirit of experimenting and being like, ‘F*** it, we want to try it!.’”. “HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T” is a personal favorite and distinct sound from “M A N I A.”

Fall Out Boy is known for, “The Last Of The Real Ones” the pop rock anthem. It emphasizes individuality and the rarity of people who actually choose to be themselves. “’Cause you’re the last of a dying breed / Write our names in the wet concrete / I wonder if your therapist knows everything about me / I’m here in search of your glory / There’s been a million before me / That ultra-kind of love / You never walk away from / You’re just the last of the real ones.”

Opening with a “Jazz Seventh Chord,” the album slows and takes a solemn turn. The slow, heavy rock and near-jazz add a complex and well-appreciated new flavor in “Heaven’s Gates.” Patrick Stump had told Music Choice, “I think that one… it’s weird, because it felt really natural to all of us when we were playing it; I don’t think any of the four of us thought twice about that song. But internally, when our friends heard it or management heard it and stuff, they’re like, ‘Wow, this is really different for you guys.’ And that just kind of surprised me, because I think that was one of the ones that fell together the most naturally, you know? It’s very us.’”

“Sunshine Riptide,” featuring Burna Boy, is the only song on the 10-track album to feature an artist. Very “California,” one would think the band had taken some tips from Weezer, “’Cause I’m stuck in the sunshine riptide / Dancing all alone in the morning light.”

M A N I A is one of Fall Out Boy’s best and most musically diverse albums yet. Longtime Fall Out Boy fans will be more than pleased.

Image from FallOutBoyVEVO via YouTube.com