Fall Out Boy has signed with Fueled by Ramen/ Elektra Records and announced its first studio album in four years, titled “So Much (for) Stardust,” coming March 24.
The announcement comes with the release of single “Love From the Other Side,” which Fall Out Boy will perform on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday night. The band also released a music video for the song, directed by David Braun and Open the Portal.
The video is a characteristically humorous clip that is an elaborate sort of fairy tale that a grandfather (played by the band’s Pete Wentz) reads to his granddaughter in an opening scene that evokes “The Princess Bride” film — when he pulls the book off of the shelf, other titles are seen that hilariously combine emo band names with classic children’s and young people’s books: “Good Charlotte’s Web,” “The Weezer of Oz,” “The Giving Plain White Tee,” “Catch-182,” etc.
The bandmembers then take off on a comical nautical adventure that is also filled with self-referential jokes: there’s an “Emo Island” and a “Winnetkaland,” (Winnetka is a suburb of the band’s hometown of Chicago).
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In the press release announcing the album, the bandmembers said, “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,” vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump said in a statement. “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.”
The announcement marks a homecoming of sorts for the band, who released their debut album in 2003 via Fueled by Ramen, which has been distributed by Elektra since 2018.
“So Much (for) Stardust” also sees the band reuniting with producer Neal Avron, who they collaborated with on albums “From Under the Cork Tree,” “Infinity on High” and “Folie à Deux.”
“Our band has been an ongoing art project for 20 years and we know there have been many inception points along that journey,” bassist Pete Wentz said. “We wanted to create an album that merged those points together – something new, but carved from our foundation. Fueled By Ramen and Elektra seemed like the perfect home for this.”
Johnny Minardi, VP of A&R for Fueled by Ramen/ Elektra, added: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome back Fall Out Boy to the Fueled By Ramen family. It’s been twenty years since the release of their debut album on Fueled By Ramen, and it’s a true pleasure to be working together again. Growing up in Chicago, I had the privilege of watching Fall Out Boy play DIY venues around the city, eventually growing into the global superstars we know them as today. They are a truly special band that has altered the landscape of rock music and who continually evolve with each new release. They have made an incredible album and we can’t wait for the world to hear it.”
The veteran pop-punk band has been teasing a new era as of late, first placing a cryptic ad in the Chicago Tribune in November and setting up multiple teaser web sites for fans before officially announcing “Love From the Other Side” last week. During a performance at iHeartRadio’s Alter Ego Fest on Saturday night, Wentz also hinted at a possible tour, telling the crowd that he “can’t wait to spend the next year with you.”
Fall Out Boy had been signed to Island Records for most of its career, releasing music through imprint DCD2, which was founded by members Wentz and Stump in 2005. After the band’s hiatus from 2009 to 2013, they signed a new three album deal with Island, which was completed in 2018 with the band’s most recent studio album, “Mania.”
Consisting of vocalist Stump, bassist Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, Fall Out Boy formed in 2001 and made their debut with 2003’s “Take This to Your Grave.” The band has made an indelible impact on rock music in the 21st century, becoming one of the most popular pop-punk bands of all time and helping to take the genre into the mainstream. Fall Out Boy has thus far released seven studio albums, with their most recent effort, “Mania,” receiving a Grammy nomination for best rock album in 2019. In 2006, the band was also nominated for a Grammy in the best new artist category. Most recently, Fall Out Boy joined fellow rock legends Weezer and Green Day on the Hella Mega tour in 2021.