Along with the birth of the teenager in the 1950s, there came the uprising of the teenage band. Normally consisting of a group of long-haired males claiming to want to kill their cheating girlfriend and then shoot themselves with a revolver, teenage bands often merge into one mass group. Until you find a good one. Indeed, Panic! At The Disco are nothing revolutionary, and don't claim to be anything of the sort, the thing which singles them out from the abyss is that they are really rather good. They normally play to sold out tours. Having heard of their whereabouts from a friend who has seen them live, and having heard a song on the internet after investigating them, I decided to pick up the CD, at the price of £9.99 from HMV, I noted they were included in the top 20. (I now understand you can buy the CD for under £5, and advice shopping around instead of buying from a huge music store.)
Now For The Standard: The band consists of four boys from Las Vegas, Brendon Urie (vocals, guitar, keyboard, piano, organ and accordion), Ryan Ross (guitar, lyrics, keyboard, piano, accordian, and organ), Brent Wilson (bass) and Spencer Smith (drums and percussion); who, instead of favouring each other's garages for practice, ended up practicing in Smith's grandmother's living room. It was Ross and Smith who first began to jam with one another at the tender age of twelve, and soon employed their classmates Wilson and Urie to join them. Once christened Panic! At The Disco-taken from a Name Taken song 'Panic', they gained the interest of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who introduced them to Decaydance/FueledByRamen. The boys were barely out of high school, but they packed up and headed to Maryland to record their first album,
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out: A slightly longer than average record consisting of 13 tracks instead of the standard 12, A Fever… delivers where most bands tend to lack. Along with the usual stories of boy meets girl, boy hates girl, love is a pain in the ass, A Fever… has so much more to offer. Released in 2005 and produced by Matt Squire, A Fever… has managed to storm the charts. When at first glance on the back of the CD and scanning the names of the songs, a bizarre de-ja-vu of 'the names of our songs must be completely unrelated to the actual song' hits you square on the face. This is nothing usual and is typical of other similar bands such as Fall Out Boy. 01. Introduction 02. The Only Difference Between Martydom And Suicide Is Press Coverage 03. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines 04. Nails For Breakfast, Tack For Snacks 05. Camisado 06. Time To Dance 07. Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off 08. Intermission 09. 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 Tablets Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet 13. Build God, Then We'll Talk
The Best Of A Fever: 02. Following the introduction, which preludes this track, a 'my voice has barely broken' Urie storms 'Sit tight', overlaying a catching guitar rift, primarily simple but effective. Intensely catchy, the kind of track which ends in mostly drunk teens bopping around crazily, it follows the traditional formation of most songs. Verse, followed by a bridge, and then picking up as the song hit's a catchy chorus. Though not complex, the diversity of layering adds for a rich multi-textured level of musicanship. More importantly, since this is the first proper track on the CD, a good hook is essential, and though this is an extremely good track, I feel track 3 would have been more effective as the opening track.
03. Track 3, being a diamond among gems, picks up the pace. A keep 'you on the edge of your seat' song, which barely gives you time to breath in the first 23 seconds, it slowly winds into a bridge which fully uses the advantages of synthesising, before raging into a chorus. Taking a slightly sarcastic stance in regards to the music industry, Panic! claim they are merely 'a wet dream for the webzines'. Another thing which makes Panic! a talented group is lyricist Ryan Ross, who, upon analysis of his lyrics is really quite amusing. The song is heavier than it's predecessor, and sheds any 'cute boy' euphemisms which may have been previously associated with them. Urie is also allowed free range of his vocal talents in this track, which he handles remarkably well, though how he had time to breath without super human powers is another subject all together.
06. A fairly complex track making full use of the electronic devices, Panic! takes a step back for a more serious song. Though not lacking any of the albums addictive rhythm, Time To Dance slows the pace a little more. The electronic pulse looming beneath the main beat gives a slightly surreal tone to the piece. With lyrics that in include 'shotgun wedding' Panic! has suitably matured in the a track which makes for interesting listening.
08. Lacking any vocals besides the odd worded comment, Intermission is an almost full length track of pure musical talent. The mind boggles at how many instruments the band can play, and it stretches most stigmatism that bands can't play by creating a complex in-depth section of pure music. A track which is generally the most disliked on the record, Intermission should never be skipped. It offers a brief glimpse into the musical talent of Panic! and the seemingly random collage of rifts, sounds and instruments is reminiscing of those created nearly forty years ago in Revolution 9 and Sgt. Pepper, by the Beatles. Such a prestigious comparison bodes well for Panic! as they prove they're worth their salt as musicians.
12. Amusing, vindictive, appealing and mostly pure brilliance, There's a Good Reason… is hands down the best track on the album. Multi-textured, available on many levels, funny and malicious, intensely catchy, sarcastic, musically complex, lyrically sharp, wickedly witty, this track is simply devilishly divine. This track jumps miles from it's brothers and sisters on the album and is a cold breeze on a hot day. It incorporates too many styles of music to count on one hand, including jazz and Broadway. Cunningly clever, There's a Good Reason… is a musical phenomenon in it's own right.
A Visual Virus: I have only seen two of Panic's music videos, I Write Sins Not Tragedies and But It's Better If You Do. Just from witnessing these two you can instantly tell these boys like to dress up, often donning top hats, masks and waistcoats. You can count on Panic! to never produce a boring video, sometimes incorporating skits amongst the music. The video follows a storyboard, but sadly only features the lead singer, the other band members can be seen briefly in the background and are lost amidst the extras. This doesn't look good for a group effort. However, a director could have easily arranged this set-up, or the other boys simply unwilling to participate. Details of the music videos are unavailable so a number of possible explanations are valid. However, a visual feats is to be had of their videos so far, and they never fail to impress.
Language: A few f-words can be found amongst the lyrics of the album, and if easily offended it is advisable you do not purchase this album. The swearing is not overly offensive and is very infrequent.
P.S. After swatting up I have discovered that Brent Wilson bass player has now left the band and has now being replaced with some guy called Jon. I have recently been told his second name is Walker. Thanks for this imformation.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Intro The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage London Beckoned ... more
Songs About Money Written By Machines Nails For Breakfast Tacks For Snacks Camisado Time To Dance Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothe...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Panic at the Disco have in their career released an excellent album. Disadvantages: An extremely lacklustre offering, the vocals lack life and the melodies are tedious.
Jun 15th, 2006
(Jun 23rd, 2006)
very helpful by (91%):
somewhat helpful by (9%):
![River Is Wide, The [Remastered] - Forum (The)](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/251/prod_small-6006251.jpg)
