SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FALL OUT BOY – FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE (20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

FALL OUT BOY
FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE (20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
UMe

You know how old you’re getting when formative albums of your youth are receiving 20th Anniversary releases! Still, From Under The Cork Tree is probably one of the most seminal emo/pop-punk albums, so it feels only right that it should receive such treatment, particularly given Fall Out Boy’s recent resurgence behind 2023’s So Much (for) Stardust.

Nostalgia still has its pull, and each of these songs still sounds as urgent as ever. The obvious hits like “Dance, Dance” and “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” remain the highlights, but the selling point here isn’t the album you’ve heard before, but the extras. In that sense, this release has both its ups and downs – the inclusions of live and acoustic versions of the classics will definitely grab attention, and it adds some heft to an otherwise quite thin Fall Out Boy live catalogue.

However, that’s where this ends, unfortunately, because the rest of the included tracks aren’t really needle movers. There are some interesting ‘alternate’ takes, and some of the remixes may take some fans fancy, but a lack of demo material and other assorted goods traditionally associated with anniversary releases gives the impression of something curated out of necessity rather than love. The album’s still great, but there’s not enough here to make this release essential.

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