So Much (for) Stardust is the eighth studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy and is their first album in over 5 years, following the release of Mania (2018), thus marking the band's longest gap between studio albums. The album was released on March 24, 2023, on Fueled by Ramen, Elektra Records and DCD2. The album reunites the band with producer Neal Avron, who last produced Folie à Deux (2008), and also marks the band's return to their original record label Fueled By Ramen, which last released Take This to Your Grave (2003). The lead single from the album, "Love from the Other Side", was released on January 18, 2023, alongside the official announcement of the album. The second single, "Heartbreak Feels So Good", was released on January 25, 2023.
The album saw a return to a more guitar-oriented pop rock and pop-punk sound, comparable to their 2008 album Folie à Deux, with disco, soul, funk, spoken word, and orchestral elements. The album received positive reviews from critics.
Background
After receiving mixed reviews for their 2018 album, Mania,[1] the band went silent on new music, besides releasing a second greatest hits album in 2019.[2]
Vocalist Patrick Stump discussed the album's creation:
"Technology has made it really easy to make records much more quickly these days. There's nothing wrong with that, and that spontaneity can be exciting... But we wanted to get back to the way we used to work. We wanted to make a record that was really lovingly crafted and deliberate and patiently guided – like someone cooked you a delicate meal. I'm not a very proud guy, but I'm pretty proud of this record."[3][4][5]
On the same day of the single release and album announcement, guitarist Joe Trohman announced on social media that he would be taking a break from the band to focus on his mental health.[7]
On March 3, 2023, the album's tracklist was confirmed.[8]
Composition
According to Sarah Jamieson of DIY, "[the album] sounds closer to a continuation of their 2008 record Folie à Deux than 2018's hyper-slick Mania, there's a return to the bold, luscious pop-rock that they honed early on."[9] Writing for Clash, Shannon Garner felt that with this album, "[the band pulled] themselves back into the pop-punk realm."[10] The album also has disco, soul and funk influences.[11] Mark Beaumont of The Independent stated that "[the album contains] grandiose orchestral passages, spoken word interludes and touches of Bruno Mars funk pop dotted among the roaring angst rock...[that blends] of their various eras...[and] pulls the plug on the rise of the machines."[12] Mathew Abraham of Caliber Tv considered the album to be a "return to a [rock and alternative rock kind of sound] for them, while it also mixes in poppier elements in...some of these songs."[13] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Jasleen Dhindsa stated, "So Much (For) Stardust...inflicts dynamic, theatrical and intense production values onto power pop and symphonic rock."[14]
The album marks a return to a more guitar-driven sound.[3] However, Stump maintains that "it's not a throwback record" but rather an imagining of "what would it have sounded like if we had made a record right after Folie à Deux instead of taking a break for a few years. It was like exploring the multiverse. It was an experiment in seeing what we would have done."[15] Songs like "I Am My Own Muse" and "Love From The Other Side" "feature massive orchestral parts."[16] "Heaven, Iowa" has been described as an arena rock track that starts slow, "but blows the audience away once the massive drums and riveting guitar hit near the halfway point."[16] "What a Time To Be Alive" demonstrates disco and funk influences.[16]
Promotion
Singles
In December 2022, the band released a claymation animation homage, and began teasing a new song. The band made a website called sendingmylovefromtheotherside.com.[17] On January 10, 2023, Oliver Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon posted to his Instagram story that he had received a package in the mail from Fall Out Boy containing a pink seashell labeled 1 of 13 alongside a letter with the date January 18, 2023, and the song title "Love From The Other Side".[18][19] The lead single, "Love from the Other Side", was announced on January 11, 2023.[20][21] The song was released on January 18, alongside the band confirming the album title and setting the release date for March 24, 2023.[3][4][5][6] Since then, the band has posted a photo of another package with a set of coordinates leading to the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, Iowa.[22] The package contained another seashell marked 2 of 13 with a letter, this time printed was the date January 25, 2023, and a speculated song title "Heartbreak Feels So Good".[22][23] On January 23, 2023, the band announced the next single, "Heartbreak Feels So Good", released on January 25, 2023, with promotion featuring actress Nicole Kidman's advertisements for AMC Theatres.[24][25] A third package was left outside Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.[26]
On March 13, the band announced that "Hold Me Like a Grudge" would be the next single of the album. On March 15, a clip of the song was shared.[27] On March 24, the same day the album was released, the band released a music video for "Hold Me Like a Grudge". The video is a continuation of the music video for the band's song, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race".[28]
On February 28, 2024, the band released a music video for the album’s fourth single, title track “So Much (For) Stardust”, featuring NBA player Jimmy Butler.[29][30]
Album
In May 2023, the band released CRYNYL, a limited edition tear-filled vinyl of the album in partnership with the art studio BRAIN. [31][32]
TV performances
The band performed "Love from the Other Side" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the same day it was released.[4][6] The band performed "Heartbreak Feels So Good" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 31, 2023.[33]
On February 8, 2023, the band announced a Europe and UK leg of So Much for (Tour) Dust with fifteen dates. Due to overwhelming demand, a second London date was added shortly after. The band was joined by Pvris, and nothing,nowhere. for this leg.[35]
On September 7, 2023, the band announced a second US leg, now being stylized as So Much for (2our) Dust, which happened in 2024 with twenty-three dates. The band was joined by Jimmy Eat World along with The Maine, Hot Mulligan, Daisy Grenade, Games We Play, and Carr appearing on select dates for this leg.[36]
So Much (for) Stardust received positive reviews upon release. The album holds a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic, based on eleven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[38] Matt Collar of AllMusic called the album "a gloriously welcome return to form". Shannon Garner writing for Clash, felt that "[the band] achieved a sound that is rigorously maintained despite the wide array of influences track-to-track."[10] Sarah Jamieson of DIY stated that the album "exudes charm and euphoria".[9] Dillon Eastoe of Dork stated, "By the time the bombastic and addictive title-track closes things out, Fall Out Boy have achieved something remarkable; that after years of fans comparing their past to their future, the two eras of the band feel reconciled."[40]
Ian Gormely of Exclaim! called the album "Fall Out Boy's best album in 15 years."[41] According to Nick Ruskell of Kerrang!, "[the album] does have a foot in a past FOB, but where they're taking you is somewhere you weren't expecting...they sound like Fall Out Boy again."[42] Steven Loftin writing for The Line of Best Fit states, "So Much (For) Stardust's main takeaway is the palpable, radiating carefree joy. While there's no doubt Fall Out Boy have probably believed in their last 15 years' worth of output, this is the first time that actually feels like they're reaching into something truer to themselves."[43]
Erica Campbell of NME feels that the album "[advances] their sound and [while also] acknowledging their roots."[44]Sputnikmusic states that producer "[Neal Avron] strips away the suffocating layers of unnecessary production which choked all life out of Mania, restoring a freeing sense of dynamics and coaxing out the best performance from Stump in more than a decade."[45] Neil McCormick of The Telegraph felt that if "[the] album had cut some of the filler, it could have been a stellar return to form."[46]
In June 2023, Alternative Press published an unranked list of the top 25 albums of the year to date and included this release, calling it "a refined, angry, and classic work of pop-punk gold with smart lyrics, stirring instrumentals, and the head-banging rock that fans have been clamoring for".[47]
Commercial performance
So Much (for) Stardust debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart dated April 8, 2023, selling 64,000 album-equivalent units. It is Fall Out Boy's seventh consecutive top-ten album.[48] The album also reached the top ten in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
"What a Time to Be Alive" was a part of the soundtrack of the ice hockey video game NHL 24, produced by EA Sports.[75]
"I Am My Own Muse" was featured in the main tracklist of the rhythm video game Just Dance 2024, made by Ubisoft.
Notes
^The London Metropolitan Orchestra consists of conductor Andy Brown, orchestra leader Jerry Hey, orchestrator Jeff Toyne, leader Janice Graham, violin leader Mark Robertson, cellists David Low and Tim Loo, violists Jonathan Moerschel and Luke Maurer, and violinists Alyssa Park, Ben Jacobson, and Eun Mee Ahn.
^Carter, Emily (February 1, 2023). "Watch Fall Out Boy's nautical-themed performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live". Kerrang!. Retrieved February 1, 2023. A couple of weeks back Pete, Patrick and Andy hit late-night TV on January 18 for the first live run-through of Love From The Other Side, and last night they did the same again for more recent single Heartbreak Feels So Good.
_Stardust.png)
