Album Review: Fall Out Boy, So Much (For) Stardust

Right now the rock world is witnessing the second coming of emo and pop-punk. Paramore are back, My Chemical Romance just wrapped up a mega successful reunion tour, and Panic! At The Disco released one of the best albums of their career (before the perennial contrarians split up).

And so, all mascara-smeared eyes are now on Fall Out Boy, to see if they can reclaim lost ground with their much-anticipated comeback album, in the wake of the creative misstep that was 2018’s EDM-spiced Mania.

Re-teaming with producer Neal Avron, who helped them birth their biggest hits in the noughties, the four-piece’s eighth opus is both a return to their roots, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter. The guitars are back, as are those impossibly catchy hooks. In general, the band sound hungrier than they’ve been for years.

Something of a spiritual heir to 2008’s Folie à Deux, the likes of ‘Heartbreak Feels So Good’ and ‘Fake Out’ serve as welcome reminders of Patrick Stump’s often underrated skills as a singer and songwriter, while the disco-infused title track proves the veteran has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve. The ‘Boy still has it!

7/10