Media Review

Panic! At The Disco

Pretty. Odd. (CD)

Fueled By Ramen
website | mySpace | pureVolume

Overall Rating:

8.5

Music Quality: 9.0

Production: 9.0

Originality: 9.5

Here’s the damn truth: I wanted to loathe this album.

A few weeks ago, I was reading headlines about a band who were going for something different on their next record (so different, it seemed, that they were convinced to drop the infamous exclamation point from their name) I recalled the many times I’d ventured to the MySpace music search and saw the band I once cherished and loved—in a time so long ago—at the top of the search. The simple fact that the band was at the top of the list—meaning they were seeing the most attention of all the artists on MySpace in the ways of plays and views—served as a resounding nail in the coffin for the band. There it is again, the cynical, standoffish, high-horse, snobby attitude I carry with me always: I just can’t stand thinking this band is so popular, so hyped, and so…vain.

A few minutes later, I’m putting on their sophomore effort. I’m ready. I’ve got all sorts of words I’d been hoarding like grenades since I heard the initially atrocious single, “Nine In The Afternoon.” I’m ready to bash this band like they’ve never been bashed before. Actually, wait. I take that back, go read Pitchfork Media’s review of their debut.

Anyways, I’m excitedly in pounce position, and next thing you know, I was completely taken aback. “Oh God, no,” I thought, “this can’t be happening.” Yep, you guessed it. I loved it.

It’s easy to assume Panic At The Disco wanted to shock us all, that they wanted to prove to us all that they are the creative alchemists who were able to take pop and punk and make something truly original. It’s easy to scoff, to blather about how forced the band might seem at this point. However, the real shocker here is that it’s also easy to love this record.

Sure, the first track is pretty pointless. And yeah, “Nine In The Afternoon” has relatively absurd lyrics (but despicably clever, damn it). In fact, most of the songs are a simple combination of mellow pop and Beatles-esque melodies, I thought. But, when the indisputably powerful track “That Green Gentleman” hit, I think that’s when I woke up and realized: this band really spun it well. I hate to include a band with such prowess and legacy in this review to compare: but think Saves the Day’s “Stay What You Are.” PATD might have removed the power chord guitars, electrified pop punk rooting, and (unfortunately) their clever lyricism, but in the wake of their progression, it’s easy to recognize the safe pop melodies and traditional scales through the odd.

Undoubtedly, as a whole, “Pretty. Odd.” has a significant amount of lackluster tracks, whether it be the annoying AM-radio sounding “I Have Friends In Holy Spaces” or the fact that “Northern Downpour” goes absolutely nowhere. The prior can’t be said for their debut record, which had an abundance of kick-ass tunes. But the band really shows immense progress that can’t be missed; “When The Day Met The Night,” for example, perfectly balances the familiar with the unfamiliar. And while several tracks are lacking on the latter half of the album (they quite simply don’t go anywhere) the aggressive, intense melodies found on the album’s first half make up for it. Hell, I even like the single now.

So before you dismiss Panic At The Disco for their intense cockiness in the light of their fame, or assume a band so young simply can’t evolve in a manner that makes sense (see The Academy Is…), think again. Panic At The Disco have proved that they are here to stay, and while I hate to say it (make up is for girls, damn it), I’m definitely on board for the long run.

reviewed by Andrew Martin