Music Buff: Panic! at the Disco “Vices & Virtues”

Three years ago Panic! at the Disco’s album “Pretty. Odd.” hit music stores with relaxed, harmonic songs reminiscent of the Beatles. With the loss of guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, a change was needed to survive. Panic’s back with signature beats in the form of lead singer Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith, in a record ready to enchant us once again.

The virtues:

The album kicks off with “The Ballad of Mona Lisa,” a topically dark but upbeat ballad. The opening bell-like measures are reminiscent of the band’s 2006 hit “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” as if Panic is reminding fans of their roots before moving onward to the string and synthesizer-laced “Hurricane.”

“Vices & Virtues” follows Panic’s historical sound while creating a new identity, but working with their old sounds works for the band of two. The first few tracks have the pop-y base-heavy beats and seemingly random song ends of the band’s debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” while the slower balladic tracks like “Memories” pull on the coattails of sophomore album “Pretty. Odd.”

The album has enough energy to stand on its own, and its strength lies in the few songs that paint a richly layered musical story. The swelling strings and soaring vocal track of “Memories” backs up a sweetly sad lyrical tale of lovers who thought they could make it on their own. Ballads aren’t too common in modern music, and Panic! disregards that as they tell stories in their music with sound effects (a child chorus and creaking floorboard in “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)”) and lyric based stories.

The non-deluxe release of the album finalizes things for listeners who make it through the all the tracks in order. The final track “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)” ends with a child chorus singing strains of the opening track and ties up the album in a surprisingly neat package.

The vices:

The album has foot-tapping beats and good musical quality, but “Vices & Virtues” has one significant flaw: over repetition. Several of the tracks are nothing but endless chorus repetition with very little actual verse. The sound of the album itself does not vary much either. The guitar and drum bases for the songs are very similar from track to track and may make it difficult to find a favorite song a second time. The repetitive sound and choruses may make it easy to learn to sing along with vocalist Brendon Urie, but it has the potential leave listeners bored.

Some tracks may leave listeners confused as well. “The Calendar,” in particular, has a confusing change of melody as the main song ends and then another different melody starts up on the same track. The change is discordant and easily pulls listeners out of the musical spell Panic weaves.

As a whole, “Vices & Virtues” has the potential to entrance listeners with a new hybrid sound. The album leaves virtues behind and let Panic create a whole new vice for old and new fans alike.

Click here to listen and watch the video of “The Ballad of Mona Lisa.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ana Faria at Ana.faria@colorado.edu.

 

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