I purchased Folie a Deux, Fall Out Boy’s newest album, with the dimmest luster of hope that they may have revisited their earlier sound.

I lusted after the attitude from Take This to Your Grave. I wanted the punk flare and raw emotion in songs like “Grenade Jumper” and “Tell Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today,” the songs that inspire me to mosh in overly crowded music venues.

Putting any of these tracks on that album would be the equivalent of bringing my no-nonsense businessman uncle into a mosh pit, but the tracks are perfect for the mainstream pop genre Fall Out Boy has come to occupy.

Released on December 13th, the album is a collection of songs about drugs, failed love, hell, and temptation. Folie a Deux can be literally translated to describe “madness shared by two,” usually characterized by delusions or paranoia. It’s a fitting label for this collection of work.

Most of the tracks seemed to start off with a distinguishable quality, whether it be a different vocal quality displayed in the song “Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet” or the use of a different instrumental introduction in “What a Catch Donnie,” but halfway through the album most of the tracks seem to blend together into the a similar sound.

The analogous feel of the songs on the album still cannot detract from the musical talent of the group is still evident. Can you rewrite that sentence? Patrick Stump has quite the vocal ability and range that is displayed frequently throughout the album such as on the track “America’s Suitehearts.” The album is also not without the witty lyrics many have come to expect from Fall Out Boy and Pete Wentz in particular.

A verse in “What a Catch Donnie” raises the question, “they say the captain goes down with the ship, so when the world ends will God go down with it?” They may spend more time in the mainstream, but they haven’t lost their sharp lyrics and even it would be a lie to say I didn’t tap my feet to their catchy single “I Don’t Care.”

The album also has a hefty list of contributing guest artists who produced vocals for various tracks. The artists include Elvis Costello, Lil Wayne, Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes and many others. The guest appearances on the album officially affirm Fall Out Boy’s pop-star status. None of the contributing artists play large roles in any of the tracks, but their names alone help Fall Out Boy achieve mainstream status.

Overall, Fall Out Boy’s latest is an array of catchy, upbeat music with an uncanny ability to invoke head bopping and hip shaking. I would classify it as a great album for road tripping and partying, but it’s not one I’ll be playing on repeat.