the Color of Context

Panic at the Disco: Emo rockers trade fad for Fab
Pretty. Odd., Decaydance, Fueled by Ramen
Release date: 25 March 2008

By Joe Derosa
“You don’t have to worry, because we’re still the same band.”

So proclaims lead singer Brendon Urie in the opening track to Panic at the Disco’s sophomore album Pretty. Odd. I have to disagree. This¾ literally¾ is not the same band. Urie (vocals), Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (drums) have been joined by Jon Walker, who replaced Brent Wilson, on bass. They’ve dropped the exclamation point from their name and traded in their eyeliner, gimmicky song titles and even producer Matt Squire. So, you may ask, what’s left, then, of Panic at the Disco? Quite frankly, not much that resembles the same band.

Pretty. Odd. is, well, pretty odd. Panic’s first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005), was hugely popular among the Hot Topic-shopping crowd. But led by their new producer Rob Mathes, the band appears to have abandoned the emo sound that made them an MTV favorite and instead decided to put out a record that tries to recapture the feel of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. Note the piano intro for “Nine in the Afternoon” or the musical-overture style of “Behind the Sea,” both of which borrow heavily from The Beatle’s “A Day in the Life.” Or how about the live cheers from the crowd in “We’re so Starving,” reminiscent of those in Sgt. Pepper’s title track. Song after song draws such comparisons.

In fact, these four guys from Las Vegas have composed a remarkable homage to the boys from Liverpool, even recording part of the album at Abbey Road studios in London. And 60’s psychedelic pop suits them almost as well as those swanky vaudeville-esque get-ups they wore in their music videos. Stand-out tracks include the first single, “Nine in the Afternoon,” and “From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins.” But how seriously can we take all this when the album is all but a Beatle’s rip off? Or is that the point? Maybe Panic doesn’t want to be taken seriously. Consider the goofy song titles, the tongue-in-cheek attitude, the cabaret costumes. Maybe they’re not going for greatness and critical acclaim, as much as humor and novelty appeal. (Maybe, in a way, they are still the same band!)

I think Pretty. Odd. will appeal to a more mature audience than Fever did. The problem is, a lot of those potential listeners have already written off Panic as music for their younger siblings, not for them. And as a result, there’s a lot of people out there who probably will never hear this album, but who would have really enjoyed it. Meanwhile, Panic may also have a tough time getting some of their Fever fans to stay long enough to give their new album a chance. I also question whether Panic has really shown us yet who they are. We may just find ourselves, in two or three years, listening to another Panic record that sounds nothing like their first two.

But I have to say, I like the new album. I was a fan of Fever, too. It featured fun, catchy pop-punk tunes that were fun to play on a long drive. But with Pretty. Odd.’s nod to the Fab Four, I’m much more impressed by the musicianship this time around. Pretty. Odd. is a solid pop record, released just in time for those lazy, spring Saturday mornings when there’s nothing else to do but sit back, relax and enjoy some sweet 60’s-style tunes.