Fall Out Boy

M A N I A

Written by: PP on 02/09/2018 16:24:19

'The first records are always the best' is a common mantra, if not an outright rule of thumb where any diversion from that pattern is an exception to the rule. And is there another band in the world that so perfectly proves that statement than Fall Out Boy? Starting out as a brilliant, unassuming pop punk band on "Take This To Your Grave", the band has literally gotten worse on every single album where today, on their seventh studio album "M A N I A", they are virtually reduced to irrelevancy for anyone considering themselves a music enthusiast. In short, the band, if you can even call them a band today, have reduced themselves into a throwaway mainstream product: a degraded, predictable, for the masses type of a band who have sacrificed all integrity in favour of the latest trends in music.

Let's consider for a moment what "M A N I A" actually sounds like. It's pure, unadulterated electronified pop music. You'll hear undertones of Michael Jackson and Queen cynically blended with elements of electro/indie bands like Imagine Dragons and straight up pop heroes like Ed Sheeran. In the midst of that, the band throws in a few guitar riffs to fool the young ones, but the result is hopelessly shallow, transparent attempt at capitalizing on every single musical trend of the last few years to sell most records possible. The songs are effects-laden and produced to oblivion, with every single trick from the mixing book thrown in amidst R'n'B references and other attempts at enticing the mainstream musical segment only. To hell with musical integrity and, you know, writing songs that people would actually listen to a couple of weeks down the line, as long as it gets the band to the top of the charts as quickly as possible.

So keeping all that in mind, let's retrace a few steps back into our usual realm: reviewing rock music. "M A N I A" barely qualifies as a relevant entry in the genre, and I suspect the original fans of Fall Out Boy have long ago abandoned the band en masse, replaced by the same people who dance all night long in clubs to the next latest hit but couldn't for the life of them name a song by the band that hasn't been promoted as a single. From our perspective, there should be nobody reading this magazine who shouldn't be able to see through the shallow transparency of what "M A N I A" is: a calculated attempt at making the most money possible, and certainly not a record that should be of any interest to anyone actually serious about listening to, and finding great new music to add to their collection.

3

Download: Church, Champion,
For the fans of: Panic! At The Disco, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 19.01.2018
Island Records

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