Fall Out Boy - So Much (For) Stardust | Album Review
April 10 | Written By Gabriella Bosticco
While Fall Out Boy's eighth studio album returns to their emo roots, it's as a springboard rather than a script.
Following the five years since the release of their last album, it was difficult to know what to expect from the Illinoisan rock band. 2018's Mania was a departure from their usual sound, receiving mixed reviews. So Much (For) Stardust is a welcome step back from this era, closer to the sound that they're known for, but with a twist.
With unexpected, dramatic orchestral elements and the iconic soulful vocals of Patrick Stump, the single Love From The Other Side is the perfect opener. Seamlessly blending strings and guitars, it reignites hopes for an old emo revival. It would not sound out of place on From Under The Cork Tree, but introduces the cinematic feel of the album.
While So Much (For) Stardust shows that the experimentation of Mania was just a phase, there are echoes of its electronic elements and bouncy riffs. This is especially true of upbeat tracks like Fake Out and Hold Me Like A Grudge which feature synth segments. There is an overall smoother, more polished sound than the original albums, but with the guitars and punchy vocals that feel distinctly like Fall Out Boy.
As any long term fan will have expected, the album is lyrically brilliant, with clever quips, pop culture references and gut-wrenching one liners that will stick with the listener. A particular highlight is The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years), which has themes of highlight reels and revisiting old places. It's nostalgic elements like this that cement Fall Out Boy as a band who have grown up with their fanbase; where their previous albums were emotional, hormone-ridden teens, So Much (For) Stardust feels like a jaded adult.
They play into the theatrics of their style with two spoken word tracks: The Pink Seashell and Baby Annihilation. The former features a monologue from Reality Bites in which Ethan Hawke discusses the futility of life, and the latter is a classic Pete Wentz poetry interval, once again reminiscent of their early albums.
The titular closing track reprises motifs from the beginning of the album to reach a powerful crescendo. It encompasses the album as a whole; full of the bittersweet, world-weary cynicism of an ex-optimist.Overall, So Much (For) Stardust is an evolution of Fall Out Boy's sound that distinctly belongs to the modern emo genre.