So Much For A Grand Return.

As the album begins, it kicks things off with good instrumentation, keying you into a good headspace for the overall sound. “Love From The Other Side” is a good tease and decent opener to the best tracks of the album. However, with the exception of a few shining moments, the next few tracks fall by the wayside in terms of vocals. It isn’t until the back half of the album where it actually gets good. Some of the tracks, such as “I Am My Own Use”, “What A Time To Be Alive”, “The Pink Seashell”, and, the title track, “So Much (For) Stardust” are easy stand outs. 

While the beginning of the album feels a bit uninspired and played out by every pop punk band, the rest sets itself apart with some clean experimentation, particularly with The Pink Seashell featuring Ethan Hawke and Baby Annihilation; the former is a nice moving section and change of pace for the album as it leads you into “I Am My Own Muse”. “I Am My Own Muse” is where the album shifts into its own and becomes something different than what was expected. While the first few tracks play a bit more basic the rest feel innovative and different, calling onto previous albums such as Folie à Deux and American Beauty / American Psycho! 

Fall Out Boy takes an ambitious turn here as it foregoes their usual flare and takes on a different feel with its penultimate track, “What A Time To Be Alive”, trading in its usual emo style for a piece inspired by what seems to play alongside a more 80’s techno-funk feeling. While the final track, “So Much (For) Stardust”, balances out the vibrant feel of the previous piece with a more somber overtone, the album closes out, not with flare, but with a hint of catharsis. The final lyrics ring out, leaving the listener with an uneasy feeling but a nonetheless satisfying ending to a decent album. While it takes a bit to get into, the album makes itself worthy of at least a listen for the back half! 

The post So Much (For) Stardust Review appeared first on SCAD Radio.

The third track was the first that stuck with me most: “Hold Me Tight or Don’t”. It has this very funky reggae dance style, making it an interesting tune for the band. I interpret it as a song about being hooked on someone while high. The song that comes on right afterward is “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)”, which is probably the most pop-sounding track in the collection. It’s about living the rich expensive life of a rockstar, but still not getting the attention from that one girl you want.

The 6th track “Heaven’s Gate” is a wonderful jazzy love song. I can see this as a perfect slow dancing song you would play at your high school’s winter formal. As I previously mentioned, the band’s main demographic is teens and I’m surprised it took them this long to write a love ballad like this.

Although the rest of the album is interesting to listen to, and I enjoy most of it, “Young and Menace” is possibly my favorite. It’s an ethereal track that starts off with a very mysterious tone and evolves into this mix of boisterous mix of shouts, dubstep and rock and roll that makes you want to start a protest. I don’t even know what to protest, but I’m too pumped to just sit there, I have to protest something. The best line is on the bridge: “Oops I did it again, I forgot what I was losing my mind about (…)”. It almost seems like he’s parodying the youth of today: constantly getting angry and often not knowing what we’re arguing about. Some other great catchy tunes in this album are “The Last of the Real Ones”, “Champion”, and “Sunshine Riptide”.

I’ve noticed this album seems to have a lot of mixed reviews, from fans and critics alike. As I said, it has very different mixing of sounds from the band that may or may not be appealing to their regular audience. I, however, find it to be a refreshing new take from a band I thought had lost their touch.

The post Has Fall Out Boy Sold Out? Not yet. appeared first on SCAD Radio.