Vol. 5, No. 5, May 2008
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CD REVIEW: Pretty. Odd.
Panic! at the Disco • Fueled by Ramen
Las Vegas-based Panic! at the Disco released its second album, Pretty. Odd. last month and it immediately soared to the top of the charts.
Now, I don’t usually pay attention to the charts because most of the chart-toppers (and music consumers) have little taste. But Panic’s music has drawn me in with its intelligence. Yes, it’s a flashback to the ’60s and some of the great bands of the period; the first single, “Nine in the Afternoon,” draws liberally from classic Beatles music. But Pretty. Odd. is something completely different and an important statement in today’s music world.
Many bands with a legitimate love and respect for classic British pop music can’t take the steps that Panic has made. A group of Nashville session men calling themselves the Vinyl Kings did a few Beatles-inspired albums, but finally fell short of the passion always present in the Beatles’ music.
Panic not only brings back that passion but takes it to another level. The band’s use of horns, orchestration and multi-layered vocals recalls the ’60s but does not replicate it. Along with the music, which infuses each song with a specific feel, the lyrics are also different than most modern music. And the video for “Nine in the Afternoon” makes Panic look like the Beatles reborn, with references from the seminal British band’s Hard Days’ Night, Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour periods.
What’s so amazing about Panic is that all its members are less than 22 years old. They didn’t grow up with this music. Their first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, was slotted by the music business into the “emo” category, as a lame, drippy, “navel-gazing” style of music. So the transition to Pretty. Odd. is strikingly dramatic, and a remarkable departure for Panic which marks them as an important band.
Like the Beatles and U2, bands that attempt changes in concept and sound are often considered daring and controversial, but if they succeed, the band becomes bigger than life. That is still to be seen with Panic, but Pretty. Odd. is a great start.
