Words By: Josh Powlesland
Band: Panic! at the Disco
Album: Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!
Release: 7th October 2013
From their synth-punk debut A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out to the melodic folk follow-up Pretty. Odd. and 2011’s pop-rock Vices and Virtues, Panic! at the Disco are well known for covering an eclectic range of genres, and this latest release Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! is no exception.
Based on the band’s hometown of Las Vegas, the album focuses not only on the traditional image of the city but also more specificly, memories from their years there.
The ten track album strongly opens with This Is Gospel, immediately demonstrating the impressive vocal abilities of front man Brendon Urie and emphasising the more dance focused direction the band has taken for this release. This is followed up by the lead single Miss Jackson, which takes inspiration from both Janet Jackson’s Nasty and Urie’s own personal history with teenage relationships. Both tracks are considerably more anthemic than we are used to getting from Panic! – with backing vocals it is hard not to sing along to, neither song would be out of place in a club playlist.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the album seems to have been strongly influenced by friends of the band and fellow Fueled by Ramen artist, Fall Out Boy, especially comeback single My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark. This assumption will not last long, however, with the third track going off in a completely different direction.
Vegas Lights starts up with a children’s choir doing a countdown introduction, which is reminiscent of the opening to Vices and Virtues’ final track Nearly Witches, but instead of descending into a powerful ballad about close friendship, Vegas Lights goes in the complete opposite direction and focuses on the liberating freedom of a night out at the clubs.
Though never matching the heights or intricacies reached by previous lyricist Ryan Ross, it is clear that Urie’s lyrical confidence has increased since the last release, and the upbeat style of Vegas Lights is mirrored by Urie’s suggestions of the darker underbelly of Vegas, particularly in the chorus, with phrases such as ‘In the Vegas lights/Where villains spend the weekend/The deep end/We’re swimming with the sharks until we drown’ particularly coming to mind, and Urie’s referencing of Vegas’ dark side is further supported by the next three tracks; Girl That You Love, Nicotine and Girls/Girls/Boys.
The album does feel more produced than Panic! at the Disco’s previous output, but still manages to retain some of what attracted so many people to the band when they first came into the scene eight years ago, in particular, the final four songs on the album which are full of nods to the band’s past.
Casual Affair’s use of synthesised piano is highly reminiscent of Fever’s Intermission, and Far Too Young to Die/Collar Full would not have been out of place in Vices & Virtues. The final track (suitably titled The End of All Things) is a complete change of pace, and is a highlight of the album. Opening with calming piano and strings, the song builds with Urie’s harmonies to create something akin to Pretty. Odd.’s Northern Downpour, and closes the album on a surprisingly mellow and calming note.
In conclusion, Too Weird to Live feels much more polished and complete than previous releases, which could be attributed to the band finding their own voice again after the departure of Ryan Ross (lead guitarist and lyricist) and Jon Walker (bass guitarist). At first listen the album doesn’t seem quite as complete as it could, with only the first couple of tracks especially standing out. It doesn’t take long for the rest of the album to start to make an impression and this is overall a very strong addition to an already good back catalogue.
Rating: 4/5
