With the cancellation of the exclamation point, Panic! At the Disco has now become, Panic at the Disco. And alongside the exclamation point went the wild and chaotic style of the Las Vegas band’s music.
“A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” released in 2005, was a revolutionary album with the introduction of a brand of music that was definitely not the norm.
Songs like “Time to Dance’ and the wildly popular, albeit, overplayed single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” set the scene for this band to make its mark on the entertainment world.
Their new installment, “Pretty.Odd.” has sounds that resemble that of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, which is a complete 180 from the musical styling of “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.”
Opening the CD with a reassuring message of “Oh how it’s been so long … we’re so sorry we’ve been gone … we were busy writing songs for-you!” This album is not what most fans are sure to be expecting, but does not mean that they will be disappointed.
Lead vocalist, Brendon Urie has the kind of voice that cannot be soon forgotten. With a touch of the emo-whine he makes it very apparent where and when the important or passionate lines are in a song.
The band still knows how to deliver smart lyrics in a way that makes you want to really listen and understand what they are trying to say between the lines. In the track “Northern Downpour,” the line “then she said she can’t believe that genius only comes along in storms of fabled foreign tongues, trippin’ eyes and flooded lungs … northern downpour sends its love,” will have some scratching their heads.
Along with the slow tempos and strange-sounding ballads, the album still contains bits of crazy and silliness as portrayed in the song “Nine in the Afternoon.” Chief songwriter and guitarist, Ryan Ross explained in Rolling Stone the meaning of the song, by describing that in their practice room there are no windows and it was hard to keep track of what time it was.
In the video for this single, it is apparent that this band has not lost their craziness all together, dancing around the streets with a marching band in full length underwear with a golden elephant.
While “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” had you gasping for air when trying to sing along, “Pretty.Odd.” will have you bobbing your head to the magical beats of the horns, drums, whistling and whatever instrument you could imagine.
Panic at the Disco will be making a Dallas stop on the Honda Civic Tour April 18 at the Palladium Ballroom. Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com.