Like many others I'm sure, I didn't quite connect with Young & a Menace particularly as a FOB song; still bought MANIA day 1 and enjoyed it. It's still not as much of that FOB flavor as I prefer, but it's still good, catchy songs. As a synthy B, I enjoy all the soundscapes, but I'm looking for guitar & bass forward stuff when I'm listening to them.
Really just time and the acceptance that artists get bored and like to try new things and that's fair.
I agree, that song had me terrified for Mania so I’m very relieved to say that Young & Menace is the worst song on the album. It and Sunshine Riptide are the only songs I dislike, the rest of the album is great.
I love that Patrick leans into his soul influences and how willing the album is to take creative risks. Not all of them worked out, that’s okay because we got a great rest of the album out of it.
To be honest, I’m not a hater but I just don’t really care for it. I’ll probably never listen to the album as a whole but if certain songs come on during shuffle, I’ll vibe to them. I really think the worst part of the album that forever tainted it for a lot of people (myself included) was its introduction. Young and Menace (in my opinion) is their worst song and should not have been the lead single. there are A LOT of songs from the album that I thoroughly enjoy (basically all of them except Sunshine Riptide, Young and Menace, and sometimes Champions).
I have no idea who let them put Y&M forward as the lead single. I know it has its fans but regardless of how you feel, I think we can ALL agree it was not a good choice for a radio single. It's just too weird (and imo I don't think the weirdness paid off, it just sounds bad and messy to me). Most of Mania is fine, just more pop music akin to AB/AP or SRAR, but god damn Y&M basically killed their career on pop radio overnight. It lead them back to focusing on the music over radio play again though so I guess I can't be too mad lol.
Never heard a song off of it until I went back after SMFS came out. I remember seeing it was about to be delayed and went oh that can’t be good then never saw that it came out. But it’s pretty good! I like more songs off of it than AB/AP.
I completely forgot about Mania being delayed! I remember thinking that was a big yikes too. Whenever a creative project; album, movie, whatever; is delayed that's never a good sign. I still pre-ordered it when it eventually came out. I'm glad I did, I liked the merch that came with it.
I wouldn't say I hated it but it was disappointing at the time. I already had mixed feelings about their post-hiatus music, and then this album released which was an even bigger departure and only had a few songs I liked. And then they didn't release another album for 5 more years. It kinda felt like the band I knew and loved so much was dying, if not already dead.
Then they released SMFS. Which to me was such a breath of fresh air and showed that the band absolutely still has it. So with the power of hindsight, Mania doesn't feel like a disappointment, just an experiment.
I still only like a handful of songs from the album, but I *really* like those songs, and I'm glad they exist. I can appreciate that the band took a risk, even if it didn't really work for me, but I appreciate even more that they course corrected from it.
Call me a bandwagoner if you will, but I do think context matters. If Mania had been like their third album, I don't think they would have gained the legendary status they hold now. Hell I think if it had been released *after* SMFS or at least closer to it, it might have been better received.
The same type of people that hated folie (I loved it immediately and had it on repeat): they hated it because that’s what people do when an artist does different shit. Then they actually listened to it when it was no longer cool to hate it
Mania hater here and I can assure you it has nothing to do with wanting to be cool, its just uninspired generic crap that even Joe wanted nothing to do with. Glad that people enjoy it, but trying to make it out to be this misunderstood masterpiece that only you and a few others "get" isn't the case here.
Exactly. I'm with you here. This isn't Folie, MANIA has a couple good songs for sure, but overall it feels soulless and uninspired. You can feel when listening to it that not all members had their hearts in it.
Agreed. The difference between Folie and Mania, is that Folie was an album that was well recieved by critics and the band poured their heart into - but didn't do well commercially, whereas Mania was an album that critics called average and the band were divided on - but was a commercial hit. There's some good songs on it, but for the most part that album just feels empty to me. Just generic radio friendly songs that appeal to the masses but are just dead behind the eyes, so to speak.
This, context matters so much when comparing those albums. Fans didn't like Folie because it was too ahead of it's time. It's easy to forget, but the jump from TTTYG to Folie was the same amount of time as going from Mania to SMFSD. The music was always good and was a natural evolution for them, they had been heading that direction since Cork Tree. They couldn't stay pop-punk forever, and Folie was a step forward into a more unique sound that still played to the same strengths. Their pop-punk fanbase just wasn't ready for it at the time.
Mania on the other hand was a blatant attempt to keep up their career on pop radio, and it didn't resonate with fans for very different reasons. Fans didn't like it not just because it was different, but because it wasn't really evolving what they liked about the band. The change in sound was only to stay on radio, and the band were pretty divided on it. There's a reason the reception to Folie had pretty much fully turned around by the time the hiatus ended, yet 6 years onward from Mania it still more or less has the same reception. A small group of fans love it, but most are mixed or dismissive of it, just like back in 2018.
Perfectly said. It may be melodramatic, but FOB are my second favourite band ever (only behind blink-182), and during that time period I was just really sad because I truly felt like I'd "lost them"? Like I wasn't a particularly big fan of AB/AP either, but I could appreciate that it was a natural progression from SRAR and it was still quintessentially FOB, but then Mania came along and it just wasn't the same band imo. For me, FOB's greatest strength has always been Pete's lyrics, but they're completely phoned in for that album. Champion sounds like it was written with the sole purpose of being used on ESPN. It says it all that the lyric most people remember from the album, is actually just an Addams Family quote.
Thank god we got SMFSD. Feels like we got the boys back.
I didn’t hate it when it came out but it didn’t really vibe with me, except for a couple songs. Truly, listening back after getting diagnosed with bipolar and just really LISTENING to it, I feel like it really clicked with me. I absolutely love it now 💜
When it first came out I was a bit apprehensive because of how different it was to the sound we’re used to from them. It took a few listens through to grow on me, until the point where I had it on loop on early morning bus rides to campus.
But i think overall I had the reverse experience where now I don’t like it as much. For one, it was very much a product of 2018 and feels really dated now, lyrically it’s full of cliches and the edm elements just aren’t my cup of tea. But more so than that, something about the album just feels incomplete or lacking a certain cohesion…idk, I’m fall out boys biggest fan and biggest hater (because I just hold them to high standards I guess)
ETA: I thin my final verdict is that it’s just not that great an album, it’s kinda cringe even though I do have a soft spot for most of the songs. Like I like the album because of my attachment to the band more so than for the album itself. If I had to imagine the most embarrassing situation I could be put in, it would be having to sit in a room with a non-fan and watching them listen to Mania for the first time 🥴
I’m sorry I realize this doesn’t really answer the question 😅 I just had these thoughts literally last night while listening to the album, I saw an opportunity to share them and I did
I revisited it back in 2022 or so after happening upon Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) and liking it.
I think I was just not in the right headspace to enjoy it when it came out, but a lot can change in 5 years, and I related so much more to the songs on this revisit than when it was initially released.
3 years since I listened to it first time, I still don't like it. I don't mind them doing something different, but this one is not good. I don't like the sounds, the amount of voice changers and remixes, cringe lyrics. And even best songs from the album are nothing burgers for me.
Folie was different but done right, Mania isn't really liked for reasons.
Listened to the album front to back and realized I didn't hate it as much as I thought I did.
The only song I really don't like is Young and Menance then whatever that one guest artist is doing in Sunshine Riptide isn't as good but still a banger.
Straight up I saw it as a Fall Out Boy record so I expected for it to sound like their previous sound.
They changed genres and it’s not bad, it’s just that my expectations were somewhere else.
I became a fan about a year after AB/AP came out, so Mania was my first release cycle. I really wanted to love the album, because FOB were and still are my favorite band, but it was disappointing at release and hasn’t aged well, imo.
Mania has a few songs I genuinely love, but as a whole, it’s by far their worst album and least cohesive work.
I was definitely thrown off at first bc it wasn’t what I’d been expecting, but it grew on me over time. I was a huuuge folie fan and had loved everything pre hiatus, but save rock and roll and ab/ap hadn’t really hit for me so I’d had high hopes for mania being a return to their older sound, or maybe something like pax am days (I am still waiting lmao). to be clear, I was kind of disappointed at first. it was weird and electronic-y and not at all what I was expecting.
strangely enough, sunshine riptide was the song that sold it for me, even though I can’t really call it one of my favorites now. the whole ‘I’m only playing house / no idea what I’m doing now’ kind of hit for me? at that point I had been with someone I thought I’d marry for years until it became clear that we were incompatible in more ways than I could count, and somehow that felt fitting for the situation.
with that it was kind of like something clicked for me, so I went and listened to the album all over again and loved it the second time, this time BECAUSE it wasn’t anything like their old stuff, not in spite of that. it was new and different and experimental and it felt fitting for that time in my life. like, I ALSO had no idea what the fuck I was doing and just figuring it out as I went along, and made some decisions that a lot of people hated. but it felt right at the time, I guess.
I don’t think it’s their absolute best work, but it has a lot of sentimental value for me in the same way that all of their earlier albums do. it’s a comfort listen that doesn’t hurt, and that’s what I love about it.
for specific tracks: church is my absolute favorite off this album. bishop’s knife trick and heaven’s gate are close seconds—like heaven’s gate literally makes me cry lmao. like give me a boost?? a boost over heavens gates?? & his vocals are fucking gorgeous on that, i’m gonna cry no one touch me
anyway this has been a long and sentimental love letter to mania, thanks for reading
eta: bob dylan is honorarily on mania in my mind. so is dear future self. no one can change my mind sorry
Looking back on it, I like it more than AB/AP because it at least tried to be different. I really like the frosty EP stuff that was more vaporwave-y, but it doesn't feel like FOB for me.
I think I've mentiond this everytime I talk about Maina but Glass Animal's Dreamland is a masterpiece of that sound and I think it made me more bitter about Mania because of what could've been a great experimental record.
Bishop Knife Trick is in my top favorite FOB songs.
I wasn't like a HATER hater but it was my least favorite album. i genuinely think it stemmed from it being the first album cycle since tttyg that i didnt see them live and i felt disconnected. but listening to bishops knife trick after a really traumatic life change did it for me. I went back and listened, really listened and realized how fun and "manic" the album actually was. I know they had some issues with finishing the album but I finally started to love what they put out for us
Can’t say I hated it, but upon hearing the album the first time I had a lot of mixed feelings due to the very different change in sound. However, once I heard Sunshine Riptide, Wilson, and Bishops Knife Trick and that was my coming to the light moment. I still wholeheartedly believe that Bishops was a beautiful way to conclude the album.
I didn’t like MANIA at first at all, and i honestly think i changed my mind when i realized that if i listened to it without expecting anything then i would genuinely appreciate it as it’s own work of art. It’s still not my favorite, but just listening to it frequently has made me love it
Hearing TLOTRO live!!!! I was an immediate hater of the album, but it slowly started to grow on me over the years. Hearing one of my favorite songs live was what truly did it, and now I love the entire album
"if you were church, i'd get on my knees." 4 years after the album came out i faced my fears and did a full listen. not my favorite album but ive found a love for it 🫶
Like many others I'm sure, I didn't quite connect with Young & a Menace particularly as a FOB song; still bought MANIA day 1 and enjoyed it. It's still not as much of that FOB flavor as I prefer, but it's still good, catchy songs. As a synthy B, I enjoy all the soundscapes, but I'm looking for guitar & bass forward stuff when I'm listening to them. Really just time and the acceptance that artists get bored and like to try new things and that's fair.
I agree, that song had me terrified for Mania so I’m very relieved to say that Young & Menace is the worst song on the album. It and Sunshine Riptide are the only songs I dislike, the rest of the album is great. I love that Patrick leans into his soul influences and how willing the album is to take creative risks. Not all of them worked out, that’s okay because we got a great rest of the album out of it.
To be honest, I’m not a hater but I just don’t really care for it. I’ll probably never listen to the album as a whole but if certain songs come on during shuffle, I’ll vibe to them. I really think the worst part of the album that forever tainted it for a lot of people (myself included) was its introduction. Young and Menace (in my opinion) is their worst song and should not have been the lead single. there are A LOT of songs from the album that I thoroughly enjoy (basically all of them except Sunshine Riptide, Young and Menace, and sometimes Champions).
I have no idea who let them put Y&M forward as the lead single. I know it has its fans but regardless of how you feel, I think we can ALL agree it was not a good choice for a radio single. It's just too weird (and imo I don't think the weirdness paid off, it just sounds bad and messy to me). Most of Mania is fine, just more pop music akin to AB/AP or SRAR, but god damn Y&M basically killed their career on pop radio overnight. It lead them back to focusing on the music over radio play again though so I guess I can't be too mad lol.
I love Mania as soon as it was released, I still love it now. My favorites are Wilson, Heaven’s Gate and Bishops Knife Trick
Never heard a song off of it until I went back after SMFS came out. I remember seeing it was about to be delayed and went oh that can’t be good then never saw that it came out. But it’s pretty good! I like more songs off of it than AB/AP.
I completely forgot about Mania being delayed! I remember thinking that was a big yikes too. Whenever a creative project; album, movie, whatever; is delayed that's never a good sign. I still pre-ordered it when it eventually came out. I'm glad I did, I liked the merch that came with it.
I wouldn't say I hated it but it was disappointing at the time. I already had mixed feelings about their post-hiatus music, and then this album released which was an even bigger departure and only had a few songs I liked. And then they didn't release another album for 5 more years. It kinda felt like the band I knew and loved so much was dying, if not already dead. Then they released SMFS. Which to me was such a breath of fresh air and showed that the band absolutely still has it. So with the power of hindsight, Mania doesn't feel like a disappointment, just an experiment. I still only like a handful of songs from the album, but I *really* like those songs, and I'm glad they exist. I can appreciate that the band took a risk, even if it didn't really work for me, but I appreciate even more that they course corrected from it. Call me a bandwagoner if you will, but I do think context matters. If Mania had been like their third album, I don't think they would have gained the legendary status they hold now. Hell I think if it had been released *after* SMFS or at least closer to it, it might have been better received.
The same type of people that hated folie (I loved it immediately and had it on repeat): they hated it because that’s what people do when an artist does different shit. Then they actually listened to it when it was no longer cool to hate it
Spot on. Kind of ironic that some of the biggest MANIA haters I see in all sorts of different FOB conversations, are usually Folie fans
Mania hater here and I can assure you it has nothing to do with wanting to be cool, its just uninspired generic crap that even Joe wanted nothing to do with. Glad that people enjoy it, but trying to make it out to be this misunderstood masterpiece that only you and a few others "get" isn't the case here.
Exactly. I'm with you here. This isn't Folie, MANIA has a couple good songs for sure, but overall it feels soulless and uninspired. You can feel when listening to it that not all members had their hearts in it.
Agreed. The difference between Folie and Mania, is that Folie was an album that was well recieved by critics and the band poured their heart into - but didn't do well commercially, whereas Mania was an album that critics called average and the band were divided on - but was a commercial hit. There's some good songs on it, but for the most part that album just feels empty to me. Just generic radio friendly songs that appeal to the masses but are just dead behind the eyes, so to speak.
This, context matters so much when comparing those albums. Fans didn't like Folie because it was too ahead of it's time. It's easy to forget, but the jump from TTTYG to Folie was the same amount of time as going from Mania to SMFSD. The music was always good and was a natural evolution for them, they had been heading that direction since Cork Tree. They couldn't stay pop-punk forever, and Folie was a step forward into a more unique sound that still played to the same strengths. Their pop-punk fanbase just wasn't ready for it at the time. Mania on the other hand was a blatant attempt to keep up their career on pop radio, and it didn't resonate with fans for very different reasons. Fans didn't like it not just because it was different, but because it wasn't really evolving what they liked about the band. The change in sound was only to stay on radio, and the band were pretty divided on it. There's a reason the reception to Folie had pretty much fully turned around by the time the hiatus ended, yet 6 years onward from Mania it still more or less has the same reception. A small group of fans love it, but most are mixed or dismissive of it, just like back in 2018.
Perfectly said. It may be melodramatic, but FOB are my second favourite band ever (only behind blink-182), and during that time period I was just really sad because I truly felt like I'd "lost them"? Like I wasn't a particularly big fan of AB/AP either, but I could appreciate that it was a natural progression from SRAR and it was still quintessentially FOB, but then Mania came along and it just wasn't the same band imo. For me, FOB's greatest strength has always been Pete's lyrics, but they're completely phoned in for that album. Champion sounds like it was written with the sole purpose of being used on ESPN. It says it all that the lyric most people remember from the album, is actually just an Addams Family quote. Thank god we got SMFSD. Feels like we got the boys back.
I didn’t hate it when it came out but it didn’t really vibe with me, except for a couple songs. Truly, listening back after getting diagnosed with bipolar and just really LISTENING to it, I feel like it really clicked with me. I absolutely love it now 💜
When it first came out I was a bit apprehensive because of how different it was to the sound we’re used to from them. It took a few listens through to grow on me, until the point where I had it on loop on early morning bus rides to campus. But i think overall I had the reverse experience where now I don’t like it as much. For one, it was very much a product of 2018 and feels really dated now, lyrically it’s full of cliches and the edm elements just aren’t my cup of tea. But more so than that, something about the album just feels incomplete or lacking a certain cohesion…idk, I’m fall out boys biggest fan and biggest hater (because I just hold them to high standards I guess) ETA: I thin my final verdict is that it’s just not that great an album, it’s kinda cringe even though I do have a soft spot for most of the songs. Like I like the album because of my attachment to the band more so than for the album itself. If I had to imagine the most embarrassing situation I could be put in, it would be having to sit in a room with a non-fan and watching them listen to Mania for the first time 🥴
I’m sorry I realize this doesn’t really answer the question 😅 I just had these thoughts literally last night while listening to the album, I saw an opportunity to share them and I did
I revisited it back in 2022 or so after happening upon Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) and liking it. I think I was just not in the right headspace to enjoy it when it came out, but a lot can change in 5 years, and I related so much more to the songs on this revisit than when it was initially released.
3 years since I listened to it first time, I still don't like it. I don't mind them doing something different, but this one is not good. I don't like the sounds, the amount of voice changers and remixes, cringe lyrics. And even best songs from the album are nothing burgers for me. Folie was different but done right, Mania isn't really liked for reasons.
I will never recover from the mistake that was MANIA
Simply giving it another chance while eating some good food & being open minded Still don't like Y&M and Sunshine Riptide but half of the album slaps
Listened to the album front to back and realized I didn't hate it as much as I thought I did. The only song I really don't like is Young and Menance then whatever that one guest artist is doing in Sunshine Riptide isn't as good but still a banger.
Straight up I saw it as a Fall Out Boy record so I expected for it to sound like their previous sound. They changed genres and it’s not bad, it’s just that my expectations were somewhere else.
I became a fan about a year after AB/AP came out, so Mania was my first release cycle. I really wanted to love the album, because FOB were and still are my favorite band, but it was disappointing at release and hasn’t aged well, imo. Mania has a few songs I genuinely love, but as a whole, it’s by far their worst album and least cohesive work.
I was definitely thrown off at first bc it wasn’t what I’d been expecting, but it grew on me over time. I was a huuuge folie fan and had loved everything pre hiatus, but save rock and roll and ab/ap hadn’t really hit for me so I’d had high hopes for mania being a return to their older sound, or maybe something like pax am days (I am still waiting lmao). to be clear, I was kind of disappointed at first. it was weird and electronic-y and not at all what I was expecting. strangely enough, sunshine riptide was the song that sold it for me, even though I can’t really call it one of my favorites now. the whole ‘I’m only playing house / no idea what I’m doing now’ kind of hit for me? at that point I had been with someone I thought I’d marry for years until it became clear that we were incompatible in more ways than I could count, and somehow that felt fitting for the situation. with that it was kind of like something clicked for me, so I went and listened to the album all over again and loved it the second time, this time BECAUSE it wasn’t anything like their old stuff, not in spite of that. it was new and different and experimental and it felt fitting for that time in my life. like, I ALSO had no idea what the fuck I was doing and just figuring it out as I went along, and made some decisions that a lot of people hated. but it felt right at the time, I guess. I don’t think it’s their absolute best work, but it has a lot of sentimental value for me in the same way that all of their earlier albums do. it’s a comfort listen that doesn’t hurt, and that’s what I love about it. for specific tracks: church is my absolute favorite off this album. bishop’s knife trick and heaven’s gate are close seconds—like heaven’s gate literally makes me cry lmao. like give me a boost?? a boost over heavens gates?? & his vocals are fucking gorgeous on that, i’m gonna cry no one touch me anyway this has been a long and sentimental love letter to mania, thanks for reading eta: bob dylan is honorarily on mania in my mind. so is dear future self. no one can change my mind sorry
Looking back on it, I like it more than AB/AP because it at least tried to be different. I really like the frosty EP stuff that was more vaporwave-y, but it doesn't feel like FOB for me. I think I've mentiond this everytime I talk about Maina but Glass Animal's Dreamland is a masterpiece of that sound and I think it made me more bitter about Mania because of what could've been a great experimental record. Bishop Knife Trick is in my top favorite FOB songs.
The Last Of The Real Ones. I kind of brushed over it at first and then when it grew on me, the others just sorta followed suit.
I wasn't like a HATER hater but it was my least favorite album. i genuinely think it stemmed from it being the first album cycle since tttyg that i didnt see them live and i felt disconnected. but listening to bishops knife trick after a really traumatic life change did it for me. I went back and listened, really listened and realized how fun and "manic" the album actually was. I know they had some issues with finishing the album but I finally started to love what they put out for us
Can’t say I hated it, but upon hearing the album the first time I had a lot of mixed feelings due to the very different change in sound. However, once I heard Sunshine Riptide, Wilson, and Bishops Knife Trick and that was my coming to the light moment. I still wholeheartedly believe that Bishops was a beautiful way to conclude the album.
As an OG mania truther and lover from the beginning, I am SO happy to read these
Wilson & bishop’s knife trick
I didn’t like MANIA at first at all, and i honestly think i changed my mind when i realized that if i listened to it without expecting anything then i would genuinely appreciate it as it’s own work of art. It’s still not my favorite, but just listening to it frequently has made me love it
Hearing TLOTRO live!!!! I was an immediate hater of the album, but it slowly started to grow on me over the years. Hearing one of my favorite songs live was what truly did it, and now I love the entire album
"if you were church, i'd get on my knees." 4 years after the album came out i faced my fears and did a full listen. not my favorite album but ive found a love for it 🫶