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Certainly not time to panic!

Added on 25/04/2008

Hannah Ross is intrigued by Panic at the Disco's different second effort...

Three years on from their début record, what do Panic At The Disco have to offer us now? Well, they have dropped the exclamation mark in their name, perhaps a sign of a greater maturity, leaving behind the days of songs such as “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have”, which was of course the Panic song that made every fan smile and every parent scorn.

So a more mature sound? Well the opener certainly suggests that the band have diversified as it seems to be a track reassuring fans that they are still the same band, something you might do if you have radicalised your musicality. The album is definitely different to what I was expecting, but on watching Panic interviews they have said themselves they have grown up and hope their fans have too. Their sophomore is a lot more mellow and relaxed than their first but it is clearly them; the distinctive vocals alone show that. Personally I'm a “lover” of the new sound but there has been a certain degree of resistance from some fans. Admittedly, there is a transition you have to go through being a lover of old Panic but personally the new album is very likeable and I have found it is one of those easy records you cannot believe has already played the way through when you hit the end. My advice to old Panic fans is persevere, give it a chance and it will hit you.

The first and second songs blend into one, unless you've heard “Nine in the Afternoon” on its own. Lyrically it is fantastic. Some may say they have lost their sense of fun but I think this is the beginning of a more creative side to the band. As the album develops sounds of The Beatles resonate, though the band insist they were nott trying to create another Sgt. Peppers concept album. There is such a mix of sounds, the instruments seem more defined as do the vocals and so this will definitely appeal to a wider audience. There are hints of ELO with tracks such as “When the Day Met the Night”, essences of My Chemical Romance’s Black Parade coming through at the beginning, and even a touch of folk with “Folkin Around”. Such a mixed variety of influences have affected this album. Having had to write off half an LP’s worth of material for being “too zany”, I for one would be quite intrigued to see what all of it would have sounded like, were the off-cuts included.

Certain songs such as “The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know” seems to capture something inexplicable, and there is still a bohemian feel to their work. When it rolls into “Behind the Sea”, as many of the songs do seem to flow into each other on this album, you would really think it was The Beatles. “She Had The World” simple delivery points evokes feeling of a nursery rhyme, but the topic obviously goes beyond kids, as they sing of love.

Clearly Panic have completely turned their backs on their Fall Out Boy type comparisons and instead are being described as “Beatleseque” from all directions. Personally this album deserves such praise and I disagree with those that say that they have lost their sense of fun. As with many second albums, they are being more experimental, and have chosen to push the boundaries musically rather than lyrically. Though some of the lyrics are clever, they are not as controversial as they have been in the past. By the end of the album there is definitely a fair ground air, which I think is to bring the young and the old feeling together, as they continue to grow as a band.

Photograph courtesy of Erik Luyten, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic.