On March 24, 2023, my favorite band of all time, Fall Out Boy, released its first album in five years. It was the second time in the band’s history that they had taken such a break, but the first gap was considered an official hiatus due to the band’s burnout, while the second one was probably due more to the pandemic than anything else. Both times, FOB came back in a year ending in 3 to release an album that made a major statement. So Much (For) Stardust, however, may ultimately outshine 2013’s Save Rock and Roll. Many fans, including myself, believe it is easily their finest work since the pre-first hiatus days that ended 15 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, the new stuff is solid too (yes, even Mania). I’m no modern FOB hater. But SMFS feels different, and I am currently obsessed with it, arguably to an unhealthy degree.

The album appeared promising from the start, with FOB releasing the songs “Love From the Other Side” and “Heartbreak Feels So Good” in January to tease what was coming up. I quickly fell in love with both songs, and it was clear that the boys were back. “Love,” the first song released, served a purpose similar to “The Phoenix” from SRAR: an attention-getting emphatic anthem accompanied by an epic video to assert that the boys were back for good. Sound-wise, it reminds me of a much more obscure FOB track, “From Now On We Are Enemies,” which is highly underrated. It’s a blend of the soft, melancholy guitar sounds prevalent in 2007’s Infinity on High and the violent, crashing guitar sounds of 2008’s Folie à Deux, maintaining the constants of Andy Hurley’s outstanding drum work and Patrick Stump’s glorious, soulful vocals. The orchestral build-up at the beginning helps to grow anticipation, an element featured in numerous Stardust tracks. The video for “Love” features classic tongue-in-cheek FOB energy, taking the viewer into its own unique world while also not taking itself too seriously. It begins with an elderly future version of Pete Wentz being asked to read a bedtime story to his young granddaughter. As he begins reading from a book, the camera zooms into the book, where the band is playing. Like a typical FOB video, there’s so much to unpack that I could sit here all day analyzing the video, but I won’t do that. I’ll just say that “Love From the Other Side” is a fantastic song that gives me adrenaline and makes me happy that my favorite band is back on top. It was also the first song from the record that I learned the lyrics to and performed live, so it has a special place in my heart.

“Heartbreak Feels So Good,” released a week later, is also a delightful track that makes me feel a lot of emotions, although not quite on the level of “Love.” Its video features the great Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, FOB’s Hella Mega Tour comrade, a very nice touch. After this, Stardust gets into the newer songs that just came out on the release date. “Hold Me Like A Grudge” is the only other track to feature a video so far, and it also has the most FOB-sounding song title on the record, in my opinion. If I had heard the phrase “hold me like a grudge” anywhere else, I probably would have thought of FOB. Patrick’s vocals shine even more than usual, as the fast, energetic, funky verses are reminiscent of his underrated 2011 solo album, Soul Punk. Stardust features many more shades of Soul Punk-style sound than any other FOB album, which really allows Patrick’s natural vocal style to shine through. The video for “Hold Me” is arguably the most entertaining out of the three, as it features Patrick in an old-school wrestler costume with a tank top, wig, and mustache, Pete in a wig, leather jacket, and eye patch, Andy in a toga, and guitarist Joe Trohman in a bright green bodysuit. It was nice to see this appearance from Joe, as he is currently away from the band dealing with mental health concerns. After listening to the audiobook of his recent memoir, None of This Rocks, I have a better understanding of what he’s gone through, and I’m glad he got a chance to really shine with his guitar work on this album. The part at the end of the “Hold Me” video where Pete’s grandmother brushes off the band’s new work and says, “Eh, I liked the old stuff better,” also makes me chuckle.

The next track is “Fake Out,” which has a unique haunting yet calm and peaceful energy. It gives me the most Infinity on High vibes of any Stardust song, evoking the feeling of lying with a lover under the stars on a midsummer night (while also possibly being in a toxic relationship at the same time). Something about the way it sounds makes me want to cry, in the best possible way. “Heaven, Iowa” gives me the feeling that it was inspired by the movie Field of Dreams, especially considering the teaser FOB dropped in January. On Twitter, they posted the coordinates of the Field of Dreams movie set in Dyersville, Iowa, saying, “If you build it, they will come.” A fan found a box that the band had left there, featuring a pink seashell — a reference to a later Stardust track — and a note revealing the title of “Heartbreak Feels So Good.” Although I’ve somehow still never seen the movie Field of Dreams, this definitely appeals to the die-hard baseball fan in me, and “Heaven” also does not disappoint. It has the most somber sound of any song on the album, but builds into the usual epic, crashing crescendo of a hook, featuring another very FOB line in “scar-crossed lovers.” Next up is “So Good Right Now,” which gets back to the upbeat, ’80s R&B-style sound that maximizes Patrick’s vocal potential. “So Good” starts with the line, “And I got all this doom and gloom on my mind,” sung in a very upbeat way. I can never get enough of songs with happy, energetic sound and downbeat, depressing lyrics, especially from FOB, and “So Good” certainly delivers on this front. It’s not the only one.

Stardust‘s midway point, “The Pink Seashell,” comes in the form of a short, spoken-word feature from actor Ethan Hawke, sampling a monologue from the 1994 film Reality Bites. When I first heard this, I genuinely thought it was one of Pete’s signature emo beat poetry performances, but this would have to wait until later. Hawke’s musings on “a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes” sound like they could have come from Pete himself. FOB then goes into the second half with a bang, as “I Am My Own Muse” is one of my favorite Stardust tracks. It features a dramatic, regal, orchestral buildup before launching into another incredible hook, in which Patrick vows to “smash all the guitars ’til we see all the stars” and “throw this year away like a bad luck charm.” This is likely a reference to the COVID year of 2020, and it’s not the only song about pandemic angst on this album that goes insanely hard. “I Am My Own Muse” is top tier.

Next up is the likely Michael Jordan-inspired “Flu Game,” which has a Vegas-style jazzy sound but still displays the Folie-esque urgency shown throughout much of the album. As someone who tends to get attached too quickly in relationships, the lines “all this love I’ve got to keep to myself” and “all this effort to make it look effortless” really resonate with me. After Hawke’s dramatic emo spoken-word interlude, we finally get one from Pete in the wildly named “Baby Annihilation.” This does not actually refer to destroying babies, as Pete mentioned in an interview that it is meant to represent just a small — or baby — amount of annihilation. The monologue evokes memories of From Under the Cork Tree and Folie, and it’s the first time Pete has done this since the first hiatus. “The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years)” is another very interesting track, mixing sports highlight reel metaphors with a beautiful, nostalgic-sounding hook and a cameo of Pete’s young daughter, Marvel, yelping at the end. Cute stuff.

Possibly my favorite song on the album, up there with “Love From the Other Side,” is “What a Time to Be Alive.” Musically, it sounds a lot like “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire, but arguably even more energetic and upbeat. I want nothing more than to get down in the club and go feral to this song all summer. Lyrically, it also sounds upbeat if you pay attention only to the hook, but in reality it is the complete polar opposite. “What a Time” is all about the pandemic era and the mental health struggles that many experienced during this time, and some of the lyrics are quite dark. These include “the view’s so pretty from the deck of a sinking ship,” “everything is lit except my serotonin,” “they say that I should try meditation, but I don’t want to be with my own thoughts,” and my personal favorite, “so it seems the vulture’s getting too full to fly.” Normally, I wouldn’t want a reminder of that dark time in the world’s history, but “What a Time” hits me so hard in the feels that I can live with it. Even though we’re long since back to normal life after COVID, the datedness just doesn’t bother me. Besides, I believe the song can also be seen as a kind of celebration of the fact that we are now back to normal life, a possible different interpretation of the upbeat sound. Either way, it is extremely catchy and a joy to listen to.

The final track on Stardust is the titular one, and it does not disappoint. It begins with yet another grand orchestral opening, this one featuring heavy piano that reminds me — strangely — of a final boss song from a Sonic the Hedgehog game. There may be a better comparison out there in the gaming music world, but I’m a Sonic junkie. Anyway, Patrick’s voice sounds epic as usual, and the hook is as memorable as you would expect. The best part of “Stardust” is definitely the bridge, in which the boys call back to a lyric from “Love” and say, “You were the sunshine of my lifetime/What would you trade the pain for? I’m not sure.” There is a smile in Patrick’s voice when he sings this, and the lines brilliantly tie things together bring the album full circle. It reminds me of Folie, in which the hook of “Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet” is used as a callback in “What a Catch, Donnie.” This makes the lyric not only a nod to “Love,” but also a subtle nod to Folie at the same time. “Stardust,” the song and the album, comes to an end with Patrick singing acapella on top of a choir in somewhat of a strained voice, going out on an eerie and haunting note. It’s a strange but beautiful way to end a strange but beautiful record.

I’ve loved Fall Out Boy for over three years now, and they popped off big-time with this album. It has some elements of their new sound, but is a clear departure from their 2010s work and added more guitar sound, which everyone agreed was needed. It reminds me of a marriage between Infinity, Folie, and Soul Punk, three beautiful, unique albums with distinct sounds that together create an amazing lovechild. Between FOB’s captivating sound, intriguing lyrics, Patrick’s voice — after which I’ve modeled my own singing voice — and their fun, likable personalities and hilarious music videos, something about these guys and their work just resonates differently with me. It feels like someone made a band just for me, and I’m going to give them all the love I can. When I see them at Fenway Park in August on the So Much (For) Stardust Tour, it’s going to feel like a fever dream. Along with the old classics, I’m sure I’ll be rocking out to many of the incredible new songs to which they just introduced us. I believe Fall Out Boy should be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as soon as they are eligible in 2027, as they’ve had a hell of a run. It’s been a wild ride, and I’m excited to see where they take us in the future.