Panic At the Disco's "Pretty. Odd." - Album Review!

Album Review: Pretty. Odd. - Panic At the
Disco

"Pretty. Odd.", or "Panic At the Disco Discover The Beatles!" (not really, but still..).

I had waited ages for this album. The Panic(!) boys had actually written their second album, decided they didn't like it, and started from scratch.
They were trying to kill me, honest to blog.

I was actually a little worried for this album. Okay, maybe a lot worried.
After hearing Nine in the Afternoon (and viewing their new fashion choices), I realised that Panic at the Disco were so obviously trying to steer away from their 13-year-old-angsty-hormone-fueled-fangirl fanbase - not to mention their "emo" label - and sound "grown up".
But A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was original and fantastic. It was sarcastic, ironic, even cocky at times. Lyricist Ryan Ross now seems much happier in regards to his lyrics - with the exception of the few lines such as "but who could love me/I am out of my mind" and "I never said I missed her/when everybody kissed her" - but replacing lines on Fever such as "you know it will always just be me" with "your eyes are the size of the moon".

Can we blame his new girlfriend for being too awesome, thus neglecting Ryan of angst-y content?
Maybe.
Is it humane to wish Jac Vanek on him again?
Probably not.*

Panic (or rather, Ryan) also appear to have realised that there are authors other than Chuck Palahniuk, and movie-adaptations-of-plays other than "Closer". They also have lost the guyliner, which will no doubt upset many a fangirl. Also me.

Some of the melodies on Pretty. Odd. are a little disorganized, and some a bit too similar, but overall, the sound is thought-out well.
And who knows, maybe they'll get some 13-year-old-fangirls to listen to the Beatles instead of the vomit-stained sound (sorry!) of Simple Plan and the like.

It actually has very good choruses (many songs could remind one of The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", regarding the vast difference between the verse and chorus), and a lot of the songs are easy to sing along with.

The album starts out with We're So Starving, and Panic tells us "we're so sorry we've been gone/we were busy writing songs for you". Good to know. There's applause in the song, which probably doesn't help the fact that I'm already thinking "IT'S SGT. PEPPER'S LONLEY HEARTS CLUB BAAAND!". Panic also informs us that we don't have to worry, 'cause they're still the same band. But they're not, really. The got rid of Brent. Making them a slightly different band. So they're not the same. Which is a little sad. Even though Brent was a loser.
This song was released on Panic's MySpace page a while ago, causing outcry amongst fans - some loved it, many despised it. I leaned toward the latter. However, Pete Wentz wrote on his blog that it was a joke. Okay, Pete...
We're So Starving is an alright track for the opening of the album, though, and it provides a nice blend into the next song - Nine in the Afternoon.

Nine in the Afternoon is the first single on the album, and I have to say, it really grew on me, and I quite like it now.
The outro is also good, and makes me think of the outros on Fever - like the one in Lying is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off.

The next song, She's A Handsome Woman, has great lyrics. However, the tune does not really match the lyrics, something which Fall Out Boy pull off brilliantly, but, unfortunately, Panic do not do as well.

I love the chorus of the next song, Do You Know What I'm Seeing?. It really won me over a bit for the album. It has a strange sort of feeling to it, and is probably one of the best songs on the album.
However, it is probably a bit longer than it needs to be.

That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed) is definately my favourite song on the album. It definately has the capacity to be really good live. It will also be the second single from the album - a good choice, I think.
It does have the potential to have a big intro, but it fails to do so a bit.
Some people have been saying that it contradicts We're So Starving by saying "things have changed for me/but that's okay", but I think that what they are trying to say is that their surroundings and situations have changed, but the band has not.

I Have Friends in Holy Spaces is more of an interval. It isn't anything special, and the song quality is a little annoying, but the song itself isn't too bad.

Northern Downpour is very pretty (not so much odd..), and sadder than the other songs. I liked it immediantly.
It has the lyrics "one and lonley" which I am guessing Panic have borrowed from Fall Out Boy and Timbaland's song One and Only.
Northern Downpour also, like on many other songs, features Ryan singing back-up vocals, and then solo, which is fantastic.
The song also has a nice ending.

Pas De Cheval - which means "step of the horse" in French, and is a ballet term (you have no idea how much I laughed when I read this title) - is another song I liked immediantly. It has Ryan singing back-up vocals again. It is catchy and less-mellow than the other songs, and Brendon sounds especially good on this song. I also like the guitar solo.

When the Day Met the Night is also a pretty good song. It features great story telling, almost as good as Regina Spektor's and The Beatles' during Eleanor Rigby.

At the beginning, The Piano Knows Something I Don't sounds very much like a song that is part of musical would. It then has a fantastic build-up, and is very catchy. The general sequence of the song is actually good for a change.

Beyond the Sea features Ryan singing again so I am about to die from happiness. However, I have to point out - "legs of wood waves"?! Um, okay!
The end of it has a build-up of random noises that reminds me of another album by another band who had another band member who wanted us to give peace a chance, HMMM.

My first thoughts upon hearing Folkin' Around were "Oh dear god no". Apparantly, I am not the only one with this reaction, because the critics hate it as well ("just for the record/the weather today/is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of/a) indifference/or b) disinterest/in what the critics say" - just had to throw that in there!).
However, as the song progresses, it isn't too bad, and, although it is definately not my favourite song on the album, it is forgivable.

She Had the World features Ryan singing again! Again! Oh, love! He sings one of my favourite bits in the song, too!
However, the song seems to shun rhymes. Rhyming isn't necessary, of course, but here it disrupts the flow of the song somewhat.
At first the song is kind of mediocre, but after you listen to it a few times, it definately grows on you - something I think will happen for all the other songs.

From A Cabin in the Mountains has good lyrics, however, the tune doesn't quite live up to it. I think it's yet another one of those "grow on you" songs.

Mad as Rabbits has a very good beginning, and is a not-particularly-good-but-not-terrible ending to the album.
I definately like the "we must reinvent love" part.

Overall, while A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is definately their best album of the two, Pretty. Odd. is actually a good listen. It's very mellow but it still has that something about it that made Panic so popular in the first place.
However, you can not listen to it with Fever in mind - you'll just be a bit disappointed.
Also don't listen to Fall Out Boy's Take This To Your Grave after it, because you'll wonder how the hell people can be so un-angry.

Song Picks:
That Green Gentleman
Mad As Rabbits

Rating:
3 stars out of 5.




*This is, of course, a joke, as I do not actually know Jac Vanek and therefore can not form a proper negative opinion on her. Don't sue meeeee!