The Bullet Music Reviews

Album review: Panic at the Disco – Pretty. Odd.

With the excitement for Panic at the Disco’s sophomore album building steadily within their fan base ever since the first clip of Nine in the Afternoon hit MySpace, I must say that when the album hit stores in March I admit that I was mildly curious about what the boys had concocted this time around. Upon first listen, I can already tell that the band took a risk this time, straying far away from the familiar techno sounds of their first album that they’ve been known for, and adding guitarist Ryan Ross as vocals on more songs. Where A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out offered upbeat dance mixes, about stripper joints and cheating lovers, Pretty. Odd. gives listeners softer, more straightforward songs about life, reminding us more of The Beatles instead of The Killers, which I suppose if done right wouldn’t be bad. I’m sorry to say that I’m not sure Panic and the Disco did that.

Nine in the Afternoon has an upbeat sound and catchy lyrics that almost reminds me of the past, but as the disc changes and the next song begins to play, all familiarity ends. The next few songs, with titles like She’s a Handsome Woman and The Green Gentlemen offer unique lyrics, and overall really aren’t that bad. Northern Downpour is great, and possibly my personal favourite from the entire album. However, the ‘ok’ songs all end when we reach the tragedy known as Folkin’ Around, which unfortunately reminds me of something closer to a ho-down than anything; this isn’t a good thing, but lucky for all of us the song just happens to be one of the shortest on the album, so the pain ends quickly. The last three songs are catchy, and after hearing Folkin’ Around, they’re not so bad either.

Verdict:Overall, I must say that I’m relatively disappointed with this album. While I’m all for growing up, and moving on to more difficult and innovative music, I think that straying as far away from the electro-pop as this band did this time around may have gone too far, because instead of hitting the ‘fresh, new music’ note, they hit something closer to the ‘boring’ note. I’ll listen to this album occasionally, but A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out will always top Pretty. Odd. in my book. With that said, I will admit that ‘Nine in the Afternoon’ is a great song, and I almost wish that more of the album sounded like it, and despite the overall feeling of the lyrics not being what I expected, the band still sounds good, and I’m happy to report that the quality of work and dedication this band puts into their work hasn’t faltered.

Megan