Panic(!) At The Disco- Pretty. Odd. (**)

Everything surrounding Panic(!) At The Disco’s new album Pretty. Odd. is anything but normal.

At first it was just little things, the slightest of hints that fans morphed into an ugly snowball of anticipation. There was the bizarre viral marketing, talks of scrapping fully completed albums, and then omission of the beloved exclamation point that normally followed “Panic” in the band’s name. However, upon listening to the new material, it’s apparent that enjoying Pretty. Odd. will hinge on listeners’ abilities to differentiate the old, punctuation loving Panic(!) At The Disco, from this new harbinger of weird.

Pretty. Odd. Finds these 4 Vegas natives ditching the hard electronic break beats, frenzied rhythms, and keyboard squiggles for over orchestrated 60s guitar pop that’s messy rather than meticulous. The endless comparisons to The Beatles circa Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are fully warranted from the fluid guitar melodies and the elaborate horn segments, but it all feels tacked on and artificial.

There is no growth or evolution in the current sound from the band’s former material, just a hard shift to a different style, putting the band’s artistic merit in question.

And unlike The Beatles, Panic(!) At The Disco lack the ability to stay relevant and clever, resulting in a song set that reeks of half-formed ideas and idol worship. When the band attempts humor like in the album’s introduction “We’re So Starving,” it comes off like self-parody as they sing, “We’re still the same/BAND!”

The only reason anybody knows this is still Panic(!) At The Disco is because of the horrible, LSD inspired fashion statements they’ve recently decided to sport.

The lead single “Nine In The Afternoon” is perhaps the brightest spot on the album, partially because of how the band aims to command this new sound rather than being tethered to it. The orchestration is big and bombastic, with loopy guitar lines from guitarist/songwriter Ryan Ross, big backing harmonies, striking string arrangements, and Brendon Urie’s high register delivering a plate load of hooks. The song is still a far cry from the glitzed-out dance rock of “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” but it’s the only time the band sound sure of themselves and confident.

But momentum never really builds in the album. And aside from “Nine In The Afternoon,” there’s no track on Pretty. Odd. where the band is found firing on all cylinders lyrically and musically.

“Do You Know What I'm Seeing?” is one such track that’s incomplete, despite containing some of the most engaging orchestration on the entire album. Drifting strings and deep drum sounds create a dream-like atmosphere that is lush and tight, giving listeners a wonderfully relaxing soundscape if it weren’t for the atrocious lyrics that taint it. Hooks such as, “I know it’s sad/That I never gave a damn/About the weather/And it never gave a damn/About me…” irritate rather enamor, while wrecking some of the few times the music really is top notch.

Much like their other their Decaydance label mates Fall Out Boy, Panic(!) At The Disco’s writing has lost a step. Ross, has dropped the tongue twisting sarcasm of their old material, in favor of sing-songy choruses that explore very little about the songs’ themes. Tracks like “Mad As Rabbits” expect fans to swallow half-baked lines such as, “He took the days as pageants/Became as mad as rabbits/With bushels of bad habits…” As if that’s not enough, Ryan Ross has decided to do other things to hinder the band.

He’s decided to share singing duties.

Ross positively wrecks the sleepy “Behind The Sea” by using his dry, narrowly ranged, voice to beat the song into submission. His timber is monotone, offering little excitement for listeners in contrast with Urie’s high-energy and dynamic delivery. The last third of the album is at times unlistenable due to Ross sharing lead vocal duties and his bigger prominence in the backing harmonies.

But the biggest problem, aside from Ross’ creative choices, has to be the fact that Pretty. Odd. sounds gimmicky rather than earnest. Regardless of how people feel about Panic At The Disco’s sound before and after this album, it’s hard to argue that “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” wasn’t a breath of fresh air into a stagnant music scene.

On Pretty. Odd. though, the band opts to make the record sound dated rather than to explore a sound. The old time jazz number “I Have Friends In Holy Places” actually sounds like it’s playing off a phonograph, complete with vinyl pops and hisses. The result is cheesy rather than quirky, however, and will further aggravate fans expecting honest songwriting rather than studio trickery.

In the end, no one will really know why the band scrapped an album’s worth of material in favor of this theatrical misstep. However, Pretty. Odd. is a shining example that merely writing material in an older musical style is never a good idea if you don’t have the songwriting chops to pull it off. Perhaps next time, these guys can actually put some teeth into their songs rather than just write musical novelties such as the meandering, “Folkin’ Around” or circus inspired “Pas De Cheval.”

Then again, I suppose if there’s anything normal about Pretty. Odd. it’s that Panic(!) At The Disco is another band to fall victim to the sophomore slump.

Tries To Sound Like: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Out Of The Blue (Electric Light Orchestra), In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel)

Key Cuts: Nine In The Afternoon, Do You Know What I'm Seeing?, Northern Downpour

Author's Note: This review appears in a recent issue of the Sonoma State Star. As this is the author's own writing and this is his own blog, in addition to holding the position of A&E Co-Editor for the Sonoma State Star, he posts it here with express consent of himself. Duh.