Pretty Odd - Panic At The Disco

...actual fact going to be pretty rubbish. 'We're so sorry we've been gone' Brendon Urie doth sing, oh how I wish that they'd never come back; at least that way I'd have purely fond memories of the band, as it stands however the mere thought of Panic at the Disco fills me with anger at how such a talented and enthusiastic band could let it all go so horribly wrong.

Before listening to this album I was not at all looking forward to once ...
...every level 'Pretty Odd' is pretty ineffective.

Panic at the Disco is probably the biggest rock band in the world right now, the fact of the matter though is that this second album 'Pretty Odd' just isn't very good. The band show no real signs of promise here, the music is dull and uninspiring; energy is kept to a minimum and when listening to this album you get the distinct impression that after four years together as a band Panic ... more

When Panic at the Disco released the début album 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' in early 2006 they quickly became the nations favourite band. In truth the band was little more than a Fall Out Boy clone with an added synth element to their sound, but nonetheless the music appealed to many and thus over 2.2 million copies of their début have been shifted in the U.S. alone. Whilst I'd be the first to admit that their sound was not particularly progressive and was merely a regurgitation of sounds which in truth had already been done to death before Panic at the Disco even came to be, I must say that I personally am a huge fan of the first album and it is in fact one that I still play an awful lot now. When Panic at the Disco emerged in early 2008 with new track 'Nine in the Afternoon' it came as quite a shock then that the music I was hearing I actually found to be terrifically dull and boring. All the life and energy that the band had previously possessed was all but gone, Panic at the Disco were a mere shadow of their former selves and any excitement that had formerly existed in their sound was now seemingly no more.

'Pretty Odd' opens with the disappointing 'We're So Starving', a minute and a half of lacklustre self loving nonsense. There's a great irony of the band here singing 'You don't have to worry cause we're still the same band', a complete lie of a statement which completely contradicts the fact that the music on this second album is entirely uninspiring and devoid of any of the great energy that their début was so packed with. As Panic at the Disco plod their way through this lethargic opener you know right from the offset that this album really isn't going to be up to much and that 'Pretty Odd' is in actual fact going to be pretty rubbish. 'We're so sorry we've been gone' Brendon Urie doth sing, oh how I wish that they'd never come back; at least that way I'd have purely fond memories of the band, as it stands however the mere thought of Panic at the Disco fills me with anger at how such a talented and enthusiastic band could let it all go so horribly wrong.

Before listening to this album I was not at all looking forward to once more hearing the track 'Nine in the Afternoon' that has been polluting the airwaves of national radio for some weeks now. When listening to this album though you start to realise that it is in fact one of the highlights here. It's by no means a good track, it is however more tolerable than much of the tracks on this album. It quickly becomes irritating, drags along painfully and never do Panic at the Disco here show any real talent. Now I'm not one to dissect the lyrical content of bands of this sort, but when lines as poor as 'It's nine in the afternoon, and your eyes are the size of the moon' are thrust upon you, it's quite hard not to pass comment about them. I'd love to know what the bands guitarist-come-lyricist Ryan Ross was thinking when this track was written, surely no one in their right mind would truly see these lines as well written? As the band further progress through this album though you learn that the cringe worthy lines definitely don't stop here. As Brendon Urie so eloquently puts across the line of 'I know it's sad that I never gave a damn about the weather, And it never gave a damn about me' you can't help but have a wry smile to yourself. The lyrics of Panic at the Disco have never been particularly excellent, but they surely could have done better than this. Some may argue that Panic at the Disco are here purely further exploring the subtly ironic humour that was exhibited on début album 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out', I however see these heinous lyrical crimes as nothing but laziness.

The first real moment of promise on this album comes in the form of 'That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)'. The only way to really describe this track is that its sort of how the band sounded on their first album, but the music just isn't quite right. The guitars go off in a strange distorted manner, and the band all seem to be progressing in different directions. This is not a band, but instead four different musicians that each want to achieve something different with the music. The vocals are quite like the more successful anthems from the 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' album, the way in which the tune progresses however just isn't anywhere near as appealing. The band members all sound tired, you get the impression that the band don't want to be producing music any more and have merely released a second album in order to cash in a little more on the success that was garnered with the first album. The lyrics are lazy, the tunes are half cocked, and everything about the music is just entirely uninspiring and really kind of irritating.

What I hate most about this 'Pretty Odd' album is the fact that there are fifteen tracks here meaning that the album clocks in at over 48 minutes in length. Whilst with 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' there were thirteen tracks and subsequently eight minutes less of music, when I listened to that album I was left wanting for more, but when I listen to 'Pretty Odd' I am constantly wanting for it all to come to a close. The album drags and it drags, track after track the band continues to disappoint and never once do Panic at the Disco here offer up anything even close to lively or exciting. There are a couple of tracks that are interesting to begin with, but even those fast become boring. Panic at the Disco completely lose the plot halfway through this album, the second half drags even more so than the first and never is there anything remotely interesting to cling on to for a little bit of listening satisfaction. By the time that final track 'Mad As Rabbits' is reached, four or five tracks have already come before that leave no lasting impact whatsoever. At best 'Pretty Odd' is background music, and I don't know about you but personally I have standards for my background music and definitely wouldn't offend my ears with such background bilge as this.

'Mad As Rabbits' as a closing track is not at all effective. It's a lifeless bore that fails to ever really get going and in truth is perhaps the perfect closer for an album that disappoints so heavily. You're not expecting anything to happen here, and in that respect I guess the track does it's job in providing for the lacklustre close you always knew it would be. The lyrics are ridiculous, the back beat will wash right over you, and the vocals have no life in them whatsoever. It is the lifeless nature of the vocals I feel that makes the 'Pretty Odd' album such a great disappointment, Brendon Urie was always hugely enthusiastic as he sung his way through the bands 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' début album, here however he sounds incredibly bored at almost all times and rarely does he show any signs of perking up. The vocal skill of Brendon Urie was what I loved most about Panic at the Disco, and although he alone is not to blame for the failure of the band on this album; he must take a fair proportion of it. In the bands first album however, the tracks were always blessed with a catchy chorus and super guitar hook as well which would never fail to press all the right buttons. Throughout the 'Pretty Odd' album there is not one such brilliant guitar hook that I can think of, even the riffs that were remotely interesting to begin with were repeated so many times in a track that they became infuriatingly irritating. The general melody of the tracks just isn't the same as it were with 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out', interesting and quirky has now been replaced with tiresome and predictable. The music plods, the vocals drone, and on every level 'Pretty Odd' is pretty ineffective.

Panic at the Disco is probably the biggest rock band in the world right now, the fact of the matter though is that this second album 'Pretty Odd' just isn't very good. The band show no real signs of promise here, the music is dull and uninspiring; energy is kept to a minimum and when listening to this album you get the distinct impression that after four years together as a band Panic at the Disco no longer want to be making music under this name. All four members of the band seem to be dragging in different directions, the music has therefore been ruined and the sound that Panic at the Disco produce on this 'Pretty Odd' album is incredibly poor and at too many times provides for a painful listening experience. Had Panic at the Disco released this album as their first then I have no doubt that success would never have come for them, as it stands though 'Pretty Odd' will no doubt go on to sell far more copies than it really should. This is not a good album, it's not even an average one for that matter; 'Pretty Odd' is incredibly poor and Panic at the Disco really should have done a lot better than this.

Label: Fueled By Ramen
Release Date: 24th March 2008

Originally posted by me on my website Alt-UK.com
Source: http://www.alt-uk.com/modules.php?name=Reviews 

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