Panic! at the Disco shouldn’t really need an introduction, but if you haven’t heard of them, they’re a popular Las Vegas-based rock band that’s been around since 2004. The group first broke out with their 2005 debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” a record that included their now-iconic single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #20 on the Year-End Hot 100 back in 2006. They’ve since seen success with albums like “Pretty. Odd.,” “Vices & Virtues,” “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!,” and “Death of a Bachelor,” which became their first album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200. This is their sixth studio album, and thus far, it seems to be getting some mixed reviews from several YouTube music critics.
Now originally, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to cover this album, because while it was the talk of the town, Panic! at the Disco is a group I’m not super familiar with, only really knowing the aforementioned “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” and while that’s a song I do enjoy, I can’t say I’m familiar with the group just because I’ve listened to that. Recently, though, a friend of mine asked if I’d review the record, and I decided to because I listened to the first two singles “High Hopes” and “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” and actually enjoyed them. Not only that, but the album's 34 minutes spread across 11 tracks so, much like how I felt going into the Fall Out Boy album “Mania” (which no, I’m not typing all those spaces that they typed), I’m entering this with the mindset of, even if it isn’t good, at least it won’t take too much time out of my life. So, all that said, here we go:
(Fuck A) Silver Lining: Kicking things off, Brendon Urie talks on this track about wanting to excel at literally everything life throws at him, and turns the idea of “every cloud having a silver lining” on its head by basically saying that a “silver lining” just isn’t good enough. Ballsy, man, ballsy. Anyway, this one is very vibrant and loud, but it’s definitely a bit too overbearing for me. And while I do think the song has some fun vocal moments, and the song certainly has some funkiness to it, it just feels a bit too much like the instrumentals are overpowering Brendon Urie’s vocal charm here. Not a terrible track, and maybe some re-listens might help it grow on me a bit, but it’s not the best start to the album.
Say Amen (Saturday Night): Taking things in a more sinister, dark route, Urie sings on this one about his spirituality over an instrumental that features chopped vocals and apparently samples one of the group’s transitions between songs on one of their tours. If that isn’t a unique sample, I don’t know what the hell is. Either way, I really love the vibrant, grandiose instrumentals on this one, and Urie sounds very powerful as he jumps into his higher register to strong results (talk about a high note, by the way). And once again, I find the hook getting stuck in my head very easily because it’s definitely one of the more snappy and memorable choruses on the album. I really dig this track!
Hey Look Ma, I Made It: Described by Genius.com as a more “tongue-in-cheek song,” this one sees Urie celebrating his success as a musician and basically thanking his mother for allowing him to pursue his dream as an artist even despite her fear of said dream leaving him starved for financial stability. Thanks, Mom. On this cut, Brendon sings over a somewhat more laid-back, electronic instrumental that has some very nice bounce to it. I like the jazz-influence on the song, Brendon sounds great up against the 808 drum beat, and the hook is very easy to get into and enjoy. Really digging this, I can see this having a lot of replayability.
High Hopes: The first single I heard from the album, I really like the lyrical message about always having hopes and chasing after your dreams without hesitation, a message and subject matter which apparently stems from Brendon Urie and Panic! and the Disco’s constant challenges and problems they’ve had to battle through since their debut in 2005. I also like the very grand, upbeat, somewhat Broadway-esque feeling of the song, as it adds nicely to the theme of being positive and having high hopes. Urie’s vocals are bright and powerful, and the hook is an infectious ear-worm. Great track!
Roaring 20s: Sticking to the “Broadway-esque” feel that I described in the last song, Urie talks about his love for Broadway and reflects on his starring role as Charlie Price in the musical “Kinky Boots.” And, in keeping with the song talking about Broadway, it has a very “Broadway musical” instrumental to it, and Brendon’s vocals have a lot of charisma to them. Actually, as I listen to him, I kinda get some “The Greatest Showman” vibes, even though that’s not quite a “Broadway” musical. Either way, the instrumentals are frantic but vibrant and I love the very jazzy, danceable vibe it has. Really like this one!
Dancing’s Not a Crime: A lyrically simple, youthful song about the idea of young love and dancing with your significant other, this one got’s a very swinging drum beat and a bright instrumental. It does feel like it kind of meshes together with some of the other songs, but I can still commend it for having some very real, unexplainable charm to it. I can really see this song being part of a Broadway musical, it’s got very lively production and a hook that just gets too easily stuck in your head! It also helps that the song is anchored by Brendon Urie, who brings another very confident, enthusiastic vocal performance to the table, but even beyond his vocal charm, the song is just so intoxicating and gorgeous, and I have too much fun with it!
One of the Drunks: Now this song had my attention when I read the Genius.com annotation for it, because Urie talks on this about the party lifestyle (you know, sex, drugs and rock & roll…and booze, of course), but instead talks about the downfall of it, and he talks about how we don’t need to go crazy and binge to think we’re doing the party lifestyle correctly. What a guy, that Brendon Urie: talented singer-songwriter, but also the dad that we all deserve. In any case, this song has a slightly darker feel to it than the last few, but it’s still very lively and exuberant, with a fast-paced drum beat, some gorgeous synths, and a more lowkey but nonetheless great vocal performance from Urie. I don’t think the hook is quite as strong as some of the others on here, and the song does kind of blend together with other tracks a little bit, but nonetheless, I definitely thought this was a solid cut, and it might grow on me with a few more listens.
The Overpass: Back to the theme of love, Urie talks about a relationship that’s been broken off, but that he desires to have back. I thought this one would take a bit more of an emotional detour, but outside of a few somewhat more emotional moments, it’s another sprightly cut that even samples "Chase" by James Brown. I like Urie’s vocals once again, and I think the very upbeat and energetic production is nice, but the song does start to feel a little too much like many other songs I’ve heard before. I also don’t really find the hook all that compelling, to be completely honest, so while it’s not complete dreck, it’s definitely not one of the album’s best.
King of the Clouds: Apparently, even though Brendon Urie made a track earlier about being careful with the “binge culture,” this song that talks about inter-dimensional traveling and multiverses came as a result of one of Brendon Urie’s weed-highs. Uhh…do as he says, not as he does? Uhh, regardless, this is a somewhat slower, more dreamy cut that sees Urie’s vocals being placed under some autotune-filters that make them feel more layered and eerie. And even with those filters being on his voice throughout most of the song, he still shows a lot of range up against the very seductive, irresistible instrumentals. I like this one a lot!
Old Fashioned: Here, Brendon gets a little nostalgic, talking about his youthful memories of partying and drinking (the stuff he wants to steer us away from) and reminiscing on the years he wasted with alcohol. Takings things a bit more fast-paced than the last one, Urie’s vocals are very smooth here, even when he jumps into his higher register on the hook. The energy on this song is undeniable, as the horns mesh nicely with the snappy, click-clacking drum beat and the very emphatic strings. I think it could’ve used a slightly better hook, but I do think this was a very nice song that might even grow on me with some repeat listens.
Dying in LA: As the title would suggest, this song is about what it’s like when one tries to move to LA to pursue their musical dreams, only to have that tear them down over time and, after being so in awe by the glamorous LA lifestyle, finding that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be when you peek behind the curtain. Happens, happens. And finally, Brendon goes down that emotional route I was thinking he’d go down earlier, singing over a piano melody that still has a fast pace and an emotional vibe to it. Brendon’s vocals feel rawer on this cut, and I think they carry some very real emotional weight to them. It’s an admittedly sad song that, even if it has a somewhat familiar lyrical theme to it, is delivered with such conviction that makes it worth repeat listens. Great ending to the album.
Overall, this album definitely threw me for a loop, I didn’t anticipate I’d enjoy it as much as I did. With some of the more mixed reception I was hearing about it, I expected that I wouldn’t find a ton about it that I liked, even though I enjoyed those first few singles, and I worried that some of the album would just mesh together and end up feeling repetitive. Well, I kept waiting for that moment where the album would get repetitive, but as it turns out, that never happened. I really dig what Brendon Urie had going on throughout this record, from the very Broadway-inspired production to his very powerful vocals, everything really came together here and, even with a few sour cuts, the album was just an infectious, joyous collection of irresistible fusions of pop-rock, jazz, and Broadway.
Now, will Panic! and the Disco’s hardcore fans enjoy the record as much as I did? Well, I don’t know. As I’ve said earlier, I’m not a hardcore fan of Panic! at the Disco, so I can’t really speak from that perspective. I can say that, while critics in general seem to be enjoying the album thus far, I’ve been hearing that a number of YouTube reviewers were disappointed in it, and despite the pretty good Metacritic score, anecdotally it seems like no one can agree on what to think of the project. Speaking from the perspective of an outsider, I can’t really say if that’s the result of the album being a huge sonic change in comparison to the rest of the group’s music, but that could be a key component to some of the pushback it’s receiving. I guess I can suggest going into it with an open mind, and you’ll walk away satisfied. I went it not knowing what to think, and I found myself really enjoying it. Perhaps I’m the only one, and perhaps I’m becoming increasingly easier to please with all the “Excellent” ratings I’ve been giving lately, but hey, I can’t help that I’m enjoying music.
Favorite tracks: Say Amen (Saturday Night), Hey Look Ma, I Made It, High Hopes, Roaring 20s, Dancing’s Not a Crime, King of the Clouds, Dying in LA
Least favorite tracks: (Fuck A) Silver Lining, The Overpass
Rating: Excellent
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