Panic! At The Disco - "Pray For The Wicked"

Panic! At The Disco - Pray For The Wicked
2018, Fueled By Ramen

1. (F**k a) Silver Lining
2. Say Amen (Saturday Night)
3. Hey Look Ma, I Made It
4. High Hopes
5. Roaring 20's
6. Dancing's Not a Crime
7. One of the Drunks
8. The Overpass
9. King of the Clouds
10. Old Fashioned
11. Dying in LA

Death of a Bachelor was great. Really great. Written before Brandan Urie married his wife, that album is filled with vigor and passion. This one? Well...it definitely feels like a plateau. It's definitely not his worst album - not by a long shot. It's also not his best. Pray for the Wicked busts out of the gate with two really great tunes, but after "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" it sort of levels off. I've listened to this album several times and I still don't remember some of the songs. Not great, not crap - sort of in the middle along with Vices & Virtues. Oh, and there's a song with some trap influences on here so...ew. It doesn't stay that way but I really don't like trap music. I don't have much more to say because, unfortunately, this is just that kind of album.

Useless Fact: I don't really know any interesting factoid about this album. That's kind of par for the course for it though.

Panic! At The Disco - "Death of a Bachelor"

Panic! At The Disco - Death of a Bachelor
2016, Fueled By Ramen

1. Victorious
2. Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time
3. Hallelujah
4. Emperor's New Clothes
5. Death of a Bachelor
6. Crazy = Genius
7. LA Devotee
8. Golden Days
9. The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty
10. House of Memories
11. Impossible Year

Well, I thought I was pretty much done with Panic! after their last album. Boy, was that a stinker. Ugh! So when I heard they had a new one I really didn't pay it any mind. However, The Rock Critic on You Tube gave it a favorable review and he is one of the few people whose reviews I trust. My wife wanted it too, so that helped. I am happy and relieved to say that Death of a Bachelor is way better than Too Weird to Live, Too Rare To Die. Whereas that album sounded like a warmed-over Fall Out Boy record, this one sounds alive and vibrant. Brandon Urie is the sole member of the band at this point but the songs are so much more interesting. The hooks are better and Brandon's vocals are just amazing here. He's really giving it his all. I especially like it when he slows it down just a little bit and puts a little Frank Sinatra in his performance. Some of the vaudeville influences from their debut album show up too, which I appreciate. I always thought that made them stand out more. Not to say this album is a return to A Fever You Can't Sweat Out because it's not, but you can hear it a little bit in songs like "Crazy = Genius" and "Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time." I'm glad that the last album was a misstep instead of a downward spiral.

Useless Fact: The album's title comes from the fact that Brandon Urie was getting married. Thus, no longer a bachelor.

Panic! At The Disco - "Too Weird To Live, To Rare To Die!"

Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!
2013, Fueled By Ramen

1. This is Gospel
2. Miss Jackson
3. Vegas Lights
4. Girl That You Love
5. Nicotine
6. Girls/Girls/Boys
7. Casual Affair
8. Far Too Young To Die
9. Collar Full
10. The End of All Things

So I guess Panic! put out an album while I wasn't looking. I've liked the band for quite a while so I just bought this sight unseen. Honestly, it sounds a lot like Fall Out Boy's Save Rock N' Roll. A lot like it. It's got the same modern pop vibe and uses a lot of the same sounding beats and vocal melodies. It's not bad, but... I don't know... it's just kind of there. I do like the bass line in "Girls/Girls/Boys" but other than that I can't really think of anything that stands out.

Useless Fact: As I understand it, Brandon Urie is the only remaining band member as their drummer went off to rehab.

Panic! At the Disco - "Vices & Virtues"

Panic! At the Disco - Vices & Virtues
2011, Fueled By Ramen

1. The Ballad of Mona Lisa
2. Let's Kill Tonight
3. Hurricane
4. Memories
5. Trade Mistakes
6. Ready To Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
7. Always
8. The Calender
9. Sarah Smiles
10. Nearly Witches (Every Since We Met)
Bonus Tracks
11. Stall Me
12. Oh Glory
13. I Wanna Be Free
14. Turn Off the Light

When I first heard "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" I was pretty excited for the album that would follow. While I liked Pretty.Odd. alright I never really found myself going back to it as much as the debut. The first single from Vices & Virtues finds the band returning to their more modern emo/pop roots. "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" is an incredible song with an incredible hook but the rest of the album? It's a bit of a grower. I was a little disappointed at first until my wife and I were driving around in the car half-listening to it - and then it clicked. I started appreciating more and more songs. The peppy "Let's Kill Tonight" and the slightly disco-esque "Hurricane" are two of my favorites. I will say the middle tracks are not quite as entrancing. "Memories," "Trade Mistakes," and "Ready to Go" are not bad tunes at all - they just don't quite hold my interest. "Ready to Go" sounds pretty 80's... I first thought this track almost sounds like The Killers instead of Panic. Things pick up again with a gentle ballad "Always." "Sarah Smiles" is the most reminiscent of Pretty.Odd. As a plus, the guys finish strong with the epic "Nearly Witches."

That's when the real fun begins. My deluxe edition contains four tracks not found on normal editions of the album. These four tracks are really awesome. So awesome that I am confounded as to why they didn't show up on the album proper. It's not like Panic has ever shied away from cramming upwards of 15 songs on a disc, so what gives? If I would have gotten the normal version of this album I would have been disappointed. With the extra tracks I feel like I'm actually getting the whole package. Seriously, if you have the normal edition you're missing out. I guess I'm saying I like my edition of Vices & Virtues but I probably wouldn't like the one at Walmart. How's that for an official review?

Useless Fact: Not only is the ! back in Panic! At the Disco, the band now only includes vocalist Brendan Urie and the drummer. Urie also wrote most of the songs on the album. "Sarah Smiles" is about his girlfriend.

Panic at the Disco - "Pretty. Odd."

Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.

2008, Fueled By Ramen

1. We're So Starving

2. Nine in the Afternoon

3. She's a Handsome Woman

4. Do You Know What I'm Seeing?

5. That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)

6. I Have Friends In Holy Spaces

7. Northern Downpour

8. When the Day Met the Night

9. Pas De Chavel

10. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

11. Behind the Sea

12. Folkin' Around

13. She Had the World

14. From a Mountain in the Middle of Cabins

15. Mad as Rabbits

Um... Okay... so I guess they want to be the Beatles. They want to be the Beatles really, really bad. Eh... I'm game. I was actually pretty interested in this one because Panic decided to emulate 60's British pop. The results are a mixed bag. The album isn't bad but it's not nearly as catchy or infectious as the last. I like "Nine in the Afternoon" and "That Green Gentlemen" and I especially like "Pas De Chavel" and the slight country vibe of "Folkin' Around." "Behind the Sea" probably is the most Beatles-esque tune and reminds me of "Yellow Submarine" a bit. I'm glad they tried something new, but this is one time where I think they should have just stayed bratty, pretentious emo kids.

Useless Fact: I've heard that the band wanted to do some epic concept album about faeries or some crap before they decided to ditch that idea and do this.

Panic at the Disco - "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out"

Panic at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

2005, Decaydance

1. Introduction

2. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage

3. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines

4. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

5. Camisado

6. Time to Dance

7. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

8. Intermission

9. But It's Better if You Do

10. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

11. I Constantly Thank God For Esteban

12. There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet

13. Build God, Then We'll Talk

Good heavens, here we go with the song titles again. Pretentious lyrics? Check! Long song titles that have nothing to do with the song? Check! Effeminate men with emo haircuts? Check! Yeah... at first Panic at the Disco seems like the latest in the cookie-cutter Hot Topic crap to come out...and they are. But you know what? I like it. I think there's a little more variety than the average emo band and their look is obviously influenced by burlesque and they have an interesting retro vibe going on. This grew on me when my wife and I listened to it on our honeymoon. The songs are catchy and full of hooks and I find myself going back to it more than a self-proclaimed metal head should.

Useless Fact: Singer Brandon Urie is absolute crap live.