Hold Me Tight or Don't

"Hold Me Tight or Don't" (stylised in all caps)[1] is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on November 15, 2017, through Island Records and DCD2. It was released as the fourth single from their seventh studio album, Mania. A music video was released with the single.[2]

"Hold Me Tight or Don't"
Remix single
Single by Fall Out Boy
from the album Mania
ReleasedNovember 15, 2017
Genre
Length3:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Fall Out Boy singles chronology
"The Last of the Real Ones"
(2017)
"Hold Me Tight or Don't"
(2017)
"Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)"
(2018)
Music video
"Hold Me Tight or Don't" on YouTube

"Hold Me Tight or Don't (The Remixes)" was released on April 13, 2018, featuring three remixes of the song.[3]

Composition edit

"Hold Me Tight or Don't" was written in the key of E major with a vocal range of E4 to C♯6.[4]

Al Shipley of Spin called the song "trendy trop house",[5] while also comparing it to reggae.[5] Dave Simpson of The Guardian described the song as a "Shakira-type Europop wobbler".[6] The Musical Hype has described the song, particularly the lyrical content, as emo.[7]

Music video edit

The music video was directed by Brendan Walter and Mel Soria. It is set on Día de Muertos and features the band performing in the festival. The video also has a romantic subplot between a woman, dressed in traditional Day of the Dead costume, and a man wearing a skull mask.[1] The San Gabriel Mission Museum is visible in the background, implying the video was filmed in San Gabriel, California.[8]

Reception edit

Maeve McDermott of USA Today called the song a "lazy attempt" at tropical house music,[9] while Hannah Mylrea of NME felt that it is a "chiming tropical jam".[10]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley, and Jonny Coffer

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Hold Me Tight or Don't"3:30
Digital download (remixes)[11]
No.TitleLength
1."Hold Me Tight or Don't" (Sweater Beats remix)2:59
2."Hold Me Tight or Don't" (The White Panda remix)2:40
3."Hold Me Tight or Don't" (VALNTN remix)3:17
Total length:8:54
Spotify Singles (Recorded at Spotify Studios NYC)
No.TitleLength
1."Hold Me Tight or Don't" (acoustic)3:21
2."I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Whitney Houston cover)4:22

Personnel edit

Fall Out Boy[12]

  • Patrick Stump – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion, songwriting, production, engineering
  • Pete Wentz – bass guitar, songwriting, production
  • Joe Trohman – lead guitar, keyboards, songwriting, programming, production, engineering
  • Andy Hurley – drums, percussion, songwriting, production

Production[12]

Charts edit

Release history edit

Region Date Format Ref.
United States November 15, 2017 Digital download
November 21, 2017 Alternative radio [18]
Top 40 radio [19]
April 13, 2018 Digital download (remixes) [11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Fall Out Boy Dance For Day of the Dead in Colorful 'HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T' Video". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "See Fall Out Boy Celebrate 'Day of the Dead' in 'Hold Me Tight or Don't'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  3. ^ "HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T (The Remixes) by Fall Out Boy". Genius. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  4. ^ Patrick, Stump (5 March 2018). "Fall Out Boy "Hold Me Tight or Don't" Sheet Music in E Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  5. ^ a b Shipley, Al. "Review: Fall Out Boy Have the Wrong Ideas About Pissing Off Punk Purists". Spin. Retrieved August 6, 2021. And the trendy trop house vibes of "Hold Me Tight or Don't" also contain shades of the jittery neurotic intensity of an Elvis Costello cod reggae track.
  6. ^ Simpson, Dave (January 19, 2018). "Fall Out Boy: Mania review – songs to appal and appease the hardcore". The Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2023. …while Hold Me Tight or Don't – a Shakira-type Europop wobbler with whistling – seems to have been mischievously designed to appal the hardcore.
  7. ^ "Fall Out Boy, 'Hold Me Tight or Don't' Track Review". The Musical Hype. November 20, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2023. On the pre-chorus, the emo is amped up to the nth degree…That emo-ness continues on throughout the chorus, where it's clear this relationship needs max effort or to be curbed.
  8. ^ "HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T (Beyond the Video)". Youtube.
  9. ^ McDermott, Maeve (January 19, 2018). "Review: Fall Out Boy's 'Mania' is an unholy mess". USA Today. Retrieved January 27, 2023. Worse are the guitar-less tracks, stripping the group's music of any identifiable traits, as heard on the lazy trop-house attempts of single Hold Me Tight Or Don't.
  10. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (January 19, 2018). "Fall Out Boy – 'Mania' review". NME. Retrieved January 27, 2023. From chiming tropical jam 'Hold Me Tight Or Don't' to the batshit but brilliant EDM of 'Young And Menace', the quartet have thrown everything they've done previously out of the window.
  11. ^ a b "HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T (The Remixes) – Single by Fall Out Boy". United States: iTunes Store. 13 April 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight or Don't, retrieved November 20, 2017
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  14. ^ "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  17. ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases | ..." All Access. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ..." All Access. Retrieved November 21, 2017.