Pretty. Odd. : Panic at the Disco : Review : Rolling Stone

A moment of silence, please, for the lost exclamation point. Panic! at the Disco have become Panic at the Disco, the biggest rock & roll punctuation controversy since .38 Special dumped their decimal point. So what does this change mean? Have Panic renounced teen silliness and become mature, sober-minded rock veterans? Ah, no. These Vegas boys have just picked up a new wardrobe of hugely entertaining pretensions, attempting to make their very own Sgt. Pepper. They even begin Pretty. Odd. with a psychedelic fanfare announcing, "We're so sorry we've been gone/We were busy writing songs for — you!" You don't have to check the notes to guess they mixed the horns and strings at Abbey Road.

Like any growing emo band, Panic want to make a Seventies-style art-rock epic. But where My Chemical Romance aim for Queen and the Killers imitate Bruce Springsteen, Panic go for ELO circa "Mr. Blue Sky." They still try to pick up chicks with lines like "You remind me of a few of my famous friends" or "We should feed our jewelry to the sea," in ballads with titles like "Nine in the Afternoon" and "That Green Gentleman." Yet the songs have the same catchy glitz as the band's breakthrough hit, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." (And speaking of tragedies, there's a song called "Folkin' Around.") Singer Brendon Urie makes the most of the wordplay he gets from guitarist-lyricist Ryan Ross, fighting for attention amid the violins and glee-club overdubs. The tunes are often beautiful, especially "Northern Downpour" and "She's a Handsome Woman," while "Mad as Rabbits" has a horn section beamed in from the Beatles' "Savoy Truffle." Even when it's over the top, which is basically always, Pretty. Odd. sounds cheerful, with a broad sense of humor that does honor to the noble legacy of ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne. These guyliner fart-knockers may have ditched their exclamation point, but they haven't lost their fundamental ridiculousness. It all makes "Folkin' Around" easy to forgive.

ROB SHEFFIELD

(Posted: Apr 3, 2008)

News and Reviews

How to Play This Album

Click the play button.
Register or enter your username and password.
Let the music play!

No commitment.
It's FREE.

Track List

Play All

Your Turn

Give us your review of Pretty. Odd.

Review 1 of 37

2of 5 Stars

There are 2 or 3 songs on the entire album worth listening to more than once in my opinion. Now I think Panic! is an alright group but this album is no where near The Killer's Sam's Town or Hot Fuss yet its got a better rating. I mean can anyone actually see these guys being a band in 20 years. Not as good as A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. And that was a decent album because on that album they just copied The Killer's style and I don't even know what genre of music the songs on this Pretty.Odd. disc is.

Aug 19, 2008 20:51:03

Review 2 of 37

3of 5 Stars

While I did like Panic's debut,I thought they were going to be another expendable rock band(cough cough Fall Out Boy). But Pretty. Odd. showed me that they might have a place in Rock music's mainstage. I thought the main improvement was songwriting,my main issue with was the lack of coaching I mean it seemed like they just went nuts with instruments and no one really said"Now boys pace yourself" or "are you shore thats necessary" because even the beatles had George Martin there to bring the music.So if Panic would have looked for a better producer this might have blown up(Not saying the producer who did the album is bad just maybe not suited to produce a retro album). All that being said Panic showed me that they could be the future of what seems to be a dieing Genre. And I Couldn't Be Happier. Peace In Darfur!

Jul 22, 2008 15:03:03

Review 3 of 37

4of 5 Stars

I don't think Panic's new album is to bad, beyond it's blatant rip of of The Beadles. It's a nice sound they've come up with, but I will miss the old Panic.
I respect the sound they have come up with, and I like the message. Even if it has taken a turn for the trendy.
There was nothing wrong with The Beadles or Queen, why not take a few of their ideas?
Four stars, in my opinion.

Jul 22, 2008 05:07:31

Review 4 of 37

2of 5 Stars

id give this album more credit if it didnt just straight up rip off sgt pepper and the magical mysterty tour did anyone else see the video for "nine in the afternoon" tell me that video doesnt scream " i am the walrus" im not a hater but there just a knock offs beatles greatest band ever no doubt.

Jul 12, 2008 17:43:01

Review 5 of 37

5of 5 Stars

Now the person who said Panic has just become some commercial act you are completely wrong. The reason why is cause they are vary different from many bands out there. If they were being commercial they would just make a second album talking about death suicide like many emo sounding bands but they never are about that. Now even though I loved panic at the disco back than i respect the change. Personally i think their new stuff is perfect for the lead singer to sing. Their new album is innovative creative and you have to judge it by the music not if Panic has changed. Five stars.

Jul 2, 2008 23:54:14

Review 6 of 37

2of 5 Stars

As soon as I heard "I write sins, not tragedies", before it became mainstream, I automatically fell in love with the band. "Pretty. Odd." certainly differs from the band's debut CD, but not exactly in a good way. The band has gone from a grungy pop type sound with witty lyrics, to a sound that is way too commercial for the band's amazing talent. Like, most bands, the taste of fame has turned them into a commercial pop act...much like Fall Out Boy. It was probably bound to come, because well every "emo" band seems to be following this trend, but I am just disappointed it had to happen so soon.

Jun 26, 2008 06:08:01

Review 7 of 37

5of 5 Stars

Yes, the album is incredibly different from their first, but to be honest I'd never given 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' a full listen before hearing this album. It still has a lot of the elements of their earlier work; lyrics that are poetic but at the same time don't take themselves or their subject matter too seriously.

The important thing to realize is that bands and musical tastes change. I'm certainly not listening to the same music I was three years ago, and I appreciate that this band can make a different sounding album without changing who they are. As for selling out, I don't think growth and experimenting with new sounds can really count.

Jun 20, 2008 18:44:39

Review 8 of 37

4of 5 Stars

Wow, I really like this album.
After A fever you can't sweat out I was a pretty big fan of the band, I think they have a cool sound. Pretty.Odd is a totally new sound for them though. It is more mature and has a Sgt.Pepper feel to it. Many bands either fail when they evolve, Panic! has just gotten better.

Jun 8, 2008 23:39:03

Previous Next