| Mixing modern day pop melodies with thoughtful progressive and straight forward power rock sensibilities, Nevada's Panic At The Disco have crafted an album that’s both familiar and distinct with their last record. On paper, Panic At The Disco sound like they could be one of any number of other bands currently clogging up the shelves at your local Best Buy with their requisite breakdowns and “witty” song titles, but somehow they manage to avoid falling victim to the kinds of lameass cliches that sink many of their contemporaries. Maybe it’s their finely tuned musicianship, or maybe it’s the way they draw from a wider array of influences than most shitty dance influenced teeny bopper bands are capable of, but somehow they’ve breathed some life into the rotting corpse of a totally played out genre, and put out a hidden gem of an album in the process.
The diminished chords and passionate, gutsy vocals of “Nine In The Afternoon” get things started off on the right foot, pushing past the two minute mark with shifting instrumentation and soaring melodies. The way Panic At The Disco blend their heaviness seamlessly with their pretty, shimmering moments is reminiscent of the last couple Fall Out Boy albums, albeit with a touch more softness here and there. While there are some of the generic “transition from chorus, riddled with lyrics hoping to make billboards", they’re usually fairly tasteful and brief, and don’t dominate the band’s sound. “Behind The Sea” veers a little too far towards being a cheesy pop jam at times, but fortunately those kinds of missteps are the exception rather than the rule here. Fans of genres that begin with “power” and end with “pop” looking for some fresh songwriting in a scene often lacking for new ideas could do worse than giving Panic At The Disco a fair shake.
~ Wayne
May 01 2008 |
