Rock bands that originally created "emo" music did so by blending punk and pop — which was when clever scribes like me also called them "pop-punk" bands.

The idea was that these youngsters loved the anger and rebellion of punk but probably grew up in upper-middle-class homes and actually liked the cheerleaders at their high schools, so any Dead Boys or Clash instincts were tempered by the reality that sugary melodies could also get them prom dates.

Fall Out Boy is one of the most successful of these acts, and now, almost 20 years into their careers, they're no longer in high school. At least, I hope not. Nope, they're grown-ups, and the way it works in the music industry today is that, in order to survive, Fall Out Boy have embraced new production techniques and songwriting templates — otherwise they won't sound exactly like The Killers and Panic! At the Disco and Imagine Dragons, all of whom also sound like Fall Out Boy.

Where does this lead us? Fall Out Boy is indeed as big as ever, and their latest album, "MANIA," released early this year, is catchy — I'm not being facetious; it really is catchy — but the caveat is you have to be a really devoted fan to tell it apart from records by Imagine Dragons, Panic! At the Disco or The Killers.

See Fall Out Boy Friday in the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Fall Out Boy, 7 p.m. Friday, Mohegan Sun Arena; Machine Gun Kelly and Against the Current open; $69-$79; 1-800-745-3000.