Panic At The Disco - Pretty. Odd. Album Review

Panic At The Disco
Pretty. Odd.
Fueled By Ramen
Album Review

Already previewed with a UK tour prior to release, Panic At The Disco's second record has been highly anticipated by the alternative-favouring teen market. The Las Vegas quartet is currently on a tour in North America and they are confirmed for this year's Oxegen and T In The Park festivals.

Opener 'We're So Starving' is a bright tongue-in-cheek intro track that barely lasts 90 seconds and sees the band proclaiming 'you don't have to worry/we're still the same', which is something of a false statement if you've heard first single 'Nine In The Afternoon'. A fantastic and charming number, the employment of strings has seen it likened to The Beatles, which is certainly not a comparison which was obvious from band's debut album. It is also a good indication of the remainder of this offering. 'When The Day Met The Night' is ambitious with big brass arrangement and contains a bright chorus, while 'Pas De Cheval' (a ballet move if you didn't know) romps along and features a stand out guitar solo. Touted to be the next release, 'The Green Gentleman' heads in a bluegrass direction and could provide a good opportunity for future live audiences to dance, one they are familiar with it.

As with most experimentation, alongside the good comes the not so good. Titled with the moniker of a pub quiz team, 'Folkin' Around' isn't much better than a pub band, while 'I Have Friends In Holy Spaces' deliberately sounds like an old sixties' ditty and is ultimately unnecessary. Other tracks such as 'She's A handsome Woman' and 'The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know' are neither here or there, fading into the background without subconsciously grabbing your attention or requiring the skip button.

Any band that makes a departure from their usual output instead of playing it safe should always be commended for broadening their horizons. In this particular case the results have varied and it certainly isn't the album that Panic were expected to release, but it has its moments, even if it may alienate their core audience.

Alex Lai

3/5