Fall Out Boy's resounding success since
Take This to Your Grave and
From Under the Cork Tree guaranteed the reissue of their debut mini-album. Originally released in 2002 on the California imprint Uprising, Fall out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend was a
Fall Out Boy primer, a hyper tantrum of humor, self-deprecation, puppy love, and
Get Up Kids worship. "World's Not Waiting (For Five Tired Boys in a Broken Down Van)" and "Short, Fast, and Loud" were album summaries in song title, harmony, and triumphant chord crash; the energetic "Honorable Mention," with its allusions to detentions and being John Cusack, wasn't far behind. "And maybe next time/I'll remember not to tell you something stupid like I'll never leave your side." The band's youth accounted for some precocious lyrical turns, considerable debts to influence, and the out-of-control moments like "Moving Pictures." But Uprising's 2005 reissue proves that Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend is as vital for
Fall Out Boy fans as any of the band's subsequent releases. And besides, who can resist a Parker Lewis reset? [The 2005 Uprising reissue included a label sampler that includes a track each from the
Fall Out Boy-affiliated projects
Project Rocket and
the Kill Pill.] ~ Johnny Loftus