The past few years have seen PANIC! AT THE DISCO transform pretty drastically; parting ways with primary lyricist Ryan Ross (and bassist Jon Walker), releasing the uninspiring sophomore 2008 effort ‘Pretty. Odd.’ and most noticeably, dropping the ‘!’ from their name. 2011 has seen them explode back onto the music scene, stamping their signature theatrical sound that was so infectious throughout their debut, and rightfully, the ‘!’ has returned.
The duo made no mistake with their choice of debut single from new album ‘Vices & Virtues’, releasing the radioactive baroque-influenced phenomenon ‘The Ballad of Mona Lisa’; preaching an incredibly infectious chorus that’ll have you hooked on the first listen. Unfortunately, the rest of the album cannot reach the same heights, leaving you slightly disappointed with the outcome – a flaccid album that’ll have you hitting repeat at the end of track one.
Give it the benefit of the doubt though, because the collection of songs does reek with some potential, as it steps up from ‘Pretty. Odd.’, with ‘Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)’ and ‘The Calendar’ coming off sounding like they just missed the cut for ‘A Fever…’. It is obvious that Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith are missing the final spark to their electric sound, but considering the album gets better with every listen, it’s too early for us to reserve too much judgement just yet.
NICK COREN