Illinois pop punk outfit Fall Out Boy have been on quite the extended break since finishing up touring commitments in support of a greatest hits compilation two years ago, with comments from band members Pete Wentz and guitarist ‘Jivin’ Joe Trohman suggesting that the band may be placing an indefinite prefix to their ‘hiatus’ status.

But literally overnight, Fall Out Boy fans suddenly have a lot to look forward to.

Their official website announced details of a brand new studio album Save Rock And Roll, due for release May this year, as well as the first single and a long list of tour dates, including two special shows in Australia as early as March; playing Sydney’s Metro Theatre on Monday 25th March, then the following Wednesday on the 27th at Melbourne’s Palace Theatre.

The Australian visit is the band’s first since 2009, and one of the few countries that’s included as part of the new album tour. Which predominantly works through the United States following the May release of Save Rock And Roll, but the quartet have already released the first taste of their new record in lead single ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)’, and is available online through iTunes.

It marks the first material from Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman since their 2008 album Folie à Deux, and the video for the new single depicts a bunch of stylish looking individuals ‘lighting up’ a funeral pyre of musical items – drumsticks, records, guitars – and taking to the lot with a flamethrower before revealing four abducted individuals tied up in the back of a van (it’s a pretty straightforward visual metaphor).

As for the band’s supposed split, an official statement from the group explains that it was only ever a temporary state, that reads:

When we were kids the only thing that got us through most days was music. It’s why we started Fall Out Boy in the first place. This isn’t a reunion because we never broke up. We needed to plug back in and make some music that matters to us. The future of Fall Out Boy starts now. Save Rock And Roll…”

Details for the tickets and pre-sale for Fall Out Boy’s whistle-stop Australian tour are yet to emerge, but keep an eye on the band’s official website for details.

Fall Out Boy Australian Tour 2013

Monday 25th March – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW

Wednesday 27th March – The Palace Theatre, Melbourne VIC

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine