Spring Break
New Panic album proves lackluster
Change is not always the best medicine
Craig Bidiman
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Diversions
The exclamation point isn't the only thing Panic at the Disco lost with their newest album, "Pretty. Odd." They seem to have also lost what made them famous in the first place: their sound.
The follow-up to their acclaimed debut ("A Fever You Can't Sweat Out") seems to encounter a band that has lost its once youthful intrigue. The album beckons a likeness to My Chemical Romance's recent release, which summons a muse the likes of Queen. Panic, doing something similar, seems to tackle another influential band, the Beatles - namely, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." This change is not very well-received, and anyone unfamiliar with the band's past most likely will not understand the change of pace.
When the Vegas quartet went home in hopes of developing their follow-up, they ran into a couple bumps in the road. While writing, they developed nearly three-fourths of the material for their new album, but ditched it all in hopes of creating something better - what is now the finished product.
In an interview with Alternative Press Magazine, guitarist Rick Ross said the band wanted to create something that was completely different from their debut effort, as they had grown tired of playing the same songs.
While their debut album teased listeners with its edgy, catchy and excitable tone, "Pretty. Odd." is ultimately rather boring. While a few songs echo the likeness of "A Fever…" including the first single, "Nine in the Afternoon," a number of the songs find the one-time excited and witty lead singer, Brandon Urie, sounding bored and tired.
Panic's goal was to create something completely different from what their fans had grown accustomed to, and they have accomplished that. But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Craig Bidiman
diversions@dailybarometer.com
The follow-up to their acclaimed debut ("A Fever You Can't Sweat Out") seems to encounter a band that has lost its once youthful intrigue. The album beckons a likeness to My Chemical Romance's recent release, which summons a muse the likes of Queen. Panic, doing something similar, seems to tackle another influential band, the Beatles - namely, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." This change is not very well-received, and anyone unfamiliar with the band's past most likely will not understand the change of pace.
When the Vegas quartet went home in hopes of developing their follow-up, they ran into a couple bumps in the road. While writing, they developed nearly three-fourths of the material for their new album, but ditched it all in hopes of creating something better - what is now the finished product.
In an interview with Alternative Press Magazine, guitarist Rick Ross said the band wanted to create something that was completely different from their debut effort, as they had grown tired of playing the same songs.
While their debut album teased listeners with its edgy, catchy and excitable tone, "Pretty. Odd." is ultimately rather boring. While a few songs echo the likeness of "A Fever…" including the first single, "Nine in the Afternoon," a number of the songs find the one-time excited and witty lead singer, Brandon Urie, sounding bored and tired.
Panic's goal was to create something completely different from what their fans had grown accustomed to, and they have accomplished that. But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Craig Bidiman
diversions@dailybarometer.com
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