Panic! At The Disco – “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!”

7.0

 

Panic! At The Disco’s fourth studio album hasn’t officially released yet, but it streamed today so I think I can review it. For those of you who have been following Panic! since their debut album know that their last two albums have been pretty un-Panicky.  This album is no different. But, the new spin Panic! puts on “Too Weird to Live…” is a unique one for this band. They’re trying their hands at a more poppy, less cabaret sound. And it worked. I was skeptical going in to this album because a lot of Fueled by Ramen bands have been going too poppy (i.e. Paramore.) I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the two singles, Miss Jackson and This Is Gospel. 

Miss Jackson is a dark, raunchy-sounding pop hit with heavy hitting percussion. Brendan Urie’s lyricism hasn’t been lost at all as he uses well-written lyrics to describe a murder. Even the video is darker than Panic! has ever gone. The video starts off with Urie covered in blood. 

This Is Gospel is another dark song, but in more of a ballad form. Panic! nixes all traditional instruments to produce this heavy-hitting electropop song. In the chorus, Urie emotionally sings “If you love me, let me go” as electronic instruments fill the background.

Overall, this album’s no “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” but it’s a turn in the right direction for Panic! At The Disco.