an unexpected surprise...
So I'll just come out and say it. The new Panic at the Disco (yes, they've dropped the '!') album, Pretty. Odd., is good, really good. I know! I'm as shocked as you are! And, yeah, I wouldn't believe me either if I were in your place. But you should, this thing is one of the best pop-rock albums I've heard yet this young year. I wanted to type "pop-punk" back there, but really, the band has managed to shed much of the trappings that kept them planted in the Fall Out Academy Emo Boys camp with the last album. Gone are the ridiculous histrionics that kept me from really latching onto A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, despite having a single that went from being something I hated to something I loved ("I Write Sins, Not Tragedies"). In their places is a more studied, mature(!) approach to pop songwriting. Yes, they've obviously been listening to the Beatles and the Kinks. No, none of this is terribly original. But something, I'm thinking the band's flair for the extravagant, keeps this stuff fresh throughout. There are a couple mis-steps along the way (the countrified "Folkin' Around" comes immediately to mind), but this is one hell of an enjoyable pop album. Give it a shot non-believers, this thing is fun.
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