Andrew Mullen
Arts & Entertainment Editor
The four-piece pop punk band Fall Out Boy went down swinging and came back up on fire, as was the fashion of their return from a three year hiatus with a newly released single, a to be released album, and an American tour with a few stops overseas.
This iconic band made their climb to fame back in 2005 with their album “From Under the Corktree”, and was received with raving reviews by fans and critics alike, only to continue on and release two more full length albums.
A very large group of incredibly dedicated fans began to grow and grow with each release due to the quality of music produced each time. Fall Out Boy can be considered rock and roll with heavy punk influences and even pop-influences, combining thoughtful lyrics on love and loss into melodies that get people moving and stagediving at every live show.
With iconic songs such as “Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging” and “Grand Theft Autumn”, the band has won a spot in many of the hearts of the college generation.
Junior Trisha Kohansby said “they were the voice of my 8th grade year. I love them, and I’m excited their hiatus is off.”
This aforementioned hiatus is the result of more than a few band members, primarily vocalist Patrick Stump and bass guitarist Pete Wentz, wanting to branch off and test the waters of various solo careers, which have been met with relative success but nothing to the caliber of Fall Out Boy. After years of little to no word on the bands status, a cryptic message from BlesstheFall’s vocalist Beau Bokan posted to his Twitter revealed a light at the end of the tunnel.
Since then, a magazine columnist has reported hearing of the bands inevitable return, but was quickly silenced on the subject by lawyers and PR teams. Finally, on Feb. 4, the band officially announced their return, paired with a single and tour dates.
Their new sound can be described as “poppy.” but, according to junior Allen Bays, “is ridiculously good. If other bands came off of breaks with material like this, they would be set for their careers.” The new sound is a fresh start for the band, and with their shows selling out in literally less than one minute each, it seems to be a good direction to go.
Guitarist Pete Wentz posted on the bands Facebook that “this isn’t a reunion because we never broke up”, and a triumphant comeback is in the works. The songs that this group of talented men released when most of us here at Wesleyan were just middle schoolers helped shaped some of our tastes in what we listen to now, and may have even gotten us through some tough times.
The return of this iconic band was abrupt and is still taking the music scene by force.
Expect to hear much more from social media about these guys, and go to their Facebook page for all of the information on their show dates, tickets, links to their single, and more information on the new album.
