Royalty. Luxury. Extravagance. All meanings of the color purple.

The album ‘Mania’ from alternative-rock band Fall Out Boy was released on Jan. 9 and hasn’t fully encompassed all that the color is in their ten song track.

‘Mania’ is their seventh studio release from Island Records following their album ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ in 2015.

Fall Out Boy consists of band members Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman, and Andy Hurley and have been my favorite band since I heard “My songs know what you did in the dark “(Light em’ up)” in sixth grade.

With every album, they’ve continued to amaze me with their non-conformity to a certain type of ‘sound.’ I would not use this album as an example of the group’s differentiation though.

However, after my anxious wait for ‘Mania’, listening to the tracks I was a little let down on how few of the tracks I found myself wanting to buy the second I heard them.

If this album were a church, I wouldn’t find myself on my knees to confess my love.

None of them were bad by any means, but after their very soulful past albums this one felt almost dull by comparison.

This can’t be said for all of the songs, I only wrote this down to make you press rewind on what to expect.

By far my favorite album on the track was “The Last of the Real Ones.”

From the moment that song started I felt the energy Fall Out Boy is famous for pouring into every line, note, and beat of Hurley’s drumsticks.

“Champion” and “Bishop’s Knife Trick” had this charm to them as well that gave me such a nostalgic feel to their previous releases that I couldn’t help but play them on repeat.

The overall theme of the album is different from the others, which is what the group was going for.

I felt a very spiritual vibe present in all the songs. Some just had a stronger pull than others.

“Young and Menace” in particular was a song very unlike anything Fall Out Boy has done in the past and sounded more along the lines of Panic! at the Disco mixed with dub step. However, this unusual sound worked very well for them and became one of my favorite songs in ‘Mania.’

Compared to ‘Save Rock and Roll’ this album is a lot less rock-based and leans more alternative or indie. I’ve never been very into indie music so it could explain my preference towards previous albums.

Some of the songs more to the pop-rock feel would be “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” and “Bishop’s Knife Trick” which were both tracks I really enjoyed and to me reflected Fall Out Boy’s fourth studio album ‘Folie a Deux’.

On the negative side, there is “Sunshine Riptide” and “Heaven’s Gate.” They don’t hold a very upbeat feel and are the two tracks I found the most dull.

Fall Out Boy made sure to include the unique ‘sound’ exclusive to this album in both tracks, but neither appealed much to me.

Overall I can say I liked ‘Mania’. It’s not my favorite, nor in my top-three Fall Out Boy has released, but I wouldn’t discourage listening to it.

The band favors not tuning into one particular genre and for me it seems the one they steered most towards in this album wasn’t for me.

Fall Out Boy has not completely abandoned everything they pushed to sound like in their previous albums, but more that they tried to make ‘Mania’ stand out from the others to appeal to a broader audience in a way that was almost too unlike them. If they were pushing for purple, they did it well with a lot of blue – slow, dependable, calming – with only a few upbeat reds of violence and demanding energy here and there.

If I could recommend one track from ‘Mania’ it would be “The Last of the Real Ones.” The strong beat and beautiful lyrics had me nearly clutching my chest at the emotions it brought up.

I’m just young enough to still believe as long as Fall Out Boy keeps making songs like this one, they will continue to be number one on my play-list.

Whether you want to hold this album tight or don’t, no one can deny that Fall Out Boy has delivered on the unique ‘sound’ they never fail to give their fans.