Genre switching and line-up changes are nothing new with Panic! At the Disco but their (or should I say his?) most recent rebranding has really missed the mark imo.
I used to be a really big fan of Panic. Pretty. Odd. and Vices & Virtues still have my heart and honestly Too Weird to Live… and A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out weren’t my favourites but they still had some bops. The last 2 albums though … they just felt so flat in comparison with all their others.
Maybe Brendon Urie just works better in a group as I know the band has recently become more of a solo effort what with the loss of Dallon Weekes, although I’m pretty sure he had nothing to do with the writing process on Death of a Bachelor.
It feels like such a waste. Brendon has an absolutely jaw dropping voice and really worked hard on his writing after Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the band in 2009 so to see the post-Pretty. Odd. albums peak with Vices & Virtues and steadily decline after is disappointing.
Pray for the Wicked saw a shift in Panic. They went from being the emo underdogs to a bland, uninspiring hit-making machine. Don’t get me wrong, I could listen to Brendon sing for hours on end but when you put a song like When the Day Met the Night next to a new one like High Hopes, the new one always falls flat.
I know that artists need to develop their sound – why would you want to listen to someone release the same albums over and over (*ahem* Catfish and the Bottlemen)? Panic were one of the best for switching it up and to Brendon’s credit he has managed to change genres once again. I just don’t think it worked in his favour at all this time.
Love always, Fiona X
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