Panic! At the Disco's "Pretty. Odd."

Olivia
Jul 6, 2021
6 min read

Updated: Jul 8, 2021

About the Artists:

Panic! At the Disco was formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004 by childhood friends Ryan Ross (guitarist and singer) and Spencer Smith (drummer). In ninth grade, they began playing music together and invited high schoolers Brendon Urie (who played guitar) and Brent Wilson (who played bass) to join the band. They started out as a Blink-182 cover band with Brendon Urie as the lead vocalist. As they began to get more serious about their music and create original songs, they sent in a demo to the songwriter and bassist of pop/punk band Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz. Wentz loved the demos and signed them to his record label in 2004. Panic! At the Disco's career kicked off from there. They released their first album, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," in 2005 and began touring with Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, the Starting Line, and Boys Night Out on the "Nintendo Fusion Tour." Their first record reached 13 on the Billboard 100, and the music video for their hit single, "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies," won best music video for the MTV Music Video Awards in 2006. Panic! At the Disco went on to headline a tour of their own and became known for their theatrical performances. Panic! At the Disco has released six studio albums and has been nominated for 2 Grammy awards for Best Rock Album in 2016 and for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2008. They also won NME's Worst Band of the Year award in 2007... Due to creative differences and personal issues, many members have left the band, and many new members have joined...and then quit. Brendon Urie is the only remaining member of Panic! At the Disco and has been more successful than ever.

About the Album:

"Pretty. Odd." is Panic! At the Disco's second album released in 2008. The band began writing this album in a rural cabin in the mountains of Nevada while taking a break after continuous touring. They started writing songs for an album called "Cricket and Clover" but scrapped it when they realized that they wanted to take a different approach to their next album. They wanted more of a stripped-down sound to their record, and most of the songs were written on acoustic guitar. Main songwriter, Ryan Ross, called it "a modern fairy tale with a romantic twist." This is very different from their first pop-punk album, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," which had raw, passionate lyrics that contributed to the 2000s emo revival. The album came together quickly, and every song made the cut. The band had the opportunity to record the strings and horns in Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously recorded their albums. "Pretty. Odd." got very mixed reviews. The critics generally gave the album good reviews, impressed with the instrumentation and its baroque-like qualities. Rolling Stone believed the creation of "Pretty. Odd." was one of the boldest moves in rock history. Their fans, however, were unsure about their drastic change in genre. Many were particularly upset when the band removed the punctuation from their name, becoming "Panic at the Disco." Despite the lack of fan approval, the album reached number 2 on US, UK, Canada, and Mexico music charts and topped the Australia charts. The album went gold in both the UK and the US.

Track Listing:

*Singles

1. We're So Starving 1:22 2. Nine in the Afternoon* 3:12 3. She's a Handsome Woman 3:12 4. Do You Know What I'm Seeing? 4:14 5. That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)* 3:15

6. I Have Friends in Holy Spaces 1:56 7. Northern Downpour* 4:08 8. When the Day Met the Night 4:54 9. Pas de Cheval 2:40 10. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know 3:44 11. Behind the Sea 3:34 12. Folkin' Around 1:56 13. She Had the World 3:47 14. From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins 3:02 15. Mad as Rabbits* 3:48

Picture of the Artists Around the Time of Album Release:

Do they have a good fashion style?

It's pretty. odd. but I like it.

Overall Opinions on "Pretty. Odd."

I decided to listen to "Pretty. Odd" because I have enjoyed listening to some newer Panic! At the Disco songs and own their latest album, "Pray for the Wicked," on vinyl. I have primarily heard the pop side of Panic! At the Disco when it has just been Brendon Urie's solo project. However, I also have listened to a few older hits like "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" and "Death of a Bachelor" (one of my favorite songs - I would highly recommend), so I was curious to listen to more of their older stuff. After listening to Pretty. Odd., I was pleasantly surprised at what I discovered. It was significantly different than anything I had previously heard from them. Each song was creative and unique. I loved the youthful feel it had and its fairytale-like lyrics.

I’ll have to admit that the first track, “We’re So Starving,” was kind of cheesy. The song is a reassurance that their band had not changed and an apology for taking a break in between albums to write new music. The next song, "Nine in the Afternoon," sets the album into motion with its upbeat tempo and lyrics. I love the instrumentation like the horns, piano, and bells. It feels inspired by the Beatles, especially the costumes and strange themes present in the music video. Some parts felt a little chaotic, but overall it was a great, catchy song. Many tracks on the album were short and random, but I enjoyed the variety. I loved the songs with jazz influences, such as "I Have Friends In Holy Spaces," which sounded like it was recorded in New Orleans in the 1940s because of the fuzzy vocals and awesome clarinet and trumpet solos. I really think that Brendon Urie should record an album full of jazz covers; he has the perfect voice for it. Other songs were heavily inspired by classical music and would be considered "baroque pop." "She Had the World" included a harpsichord along with some stringed instruments. This song was one of my favorites, as it made me feel like I was in a different time period or even a separate (sort of steampunk?) universe. The lyrics are pretty whimsical, like in almost every song, but I could understand the tone and feeling behind it. The lyrics are: "She held the world upon a string, but she didn't ever hold me / Spun the stars on her fingernails, but it never made her happy/ 'Cause she couldn't ever have me." I believe the narrator is referring to a past relationship that was not mutual. Even if I couldn’t fully decipher the lyrics, I would know that the song was personal, and the songwriter wrote these lyrics in a way that meant something special to him. The meanings and metaphors in the songs are very imaginative and are what draw me to keep listening.

Some songs like "Pas de Cheval" seem to be written just for fun, without any deep meanings. I enjoyed this song, as it reminded me of the Beatles'"Get Back." It had a fun, steady beat that imitated a galloping horse, which corresponds with the title, a ballet step meaning "no horse." "Pretty. Odd." also had some fun pop/rock songs like "Mad As Rabbits" and "The Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)" that had neat guitar riffs with a nice electric guitar tone. They even included a folk song called "Folkin' Around," which had excellent fiddle and banjo lines. My favorite song on the album is called "Northern Downpour." It starts with an acoustic guitar, and a piano joins mid-verse. The second verse adds drums and an electric guitar that blends in with the acoustic guitar well. I loved the choruses where Ryan and Brendon harmonized so naturally. The lyrics were odd at first, but I realized they were very sweet once I started to listen closely. The first line, "If all our life is but a dream / Fantastic posing greed / Then we should feed our jewelry to the sea / For diamonds do appear to be / Just like broken glass to me," encourages the listeners to not take anything for granted and to find value in the ordinary things we have. The song goes on to remind its listeners that the world isn't perfect, but we need to surpass that fact and enjoy each other and each moment while we are here.

Overall, I thought "Pretty. Odd." was very enjoyable. I loved how Ryan and Brendon often traded off vocal parts throughout the songs so that they would become duets. Their voices work well together, especially in harmony. Something is very pleasant about Ryan's voice, and I feel like it fits the album’s theme very well. I was not used to hearing Brendon's voice in this mellow setting, and I feel like his voice is almost too polished and professional for some of the songs, making them sound more Broadway. However, I was very impressed by the instrumentation. It is impressive that they were able to have a vision for their songs that would include instruments such as the harpsichord, banjo, and mandolin. Sometimes I felt that the songs were kind of muddled, possibly due to the album’s production or the use of too many moving parts at once. Despite those factors, I would definitely recommend listening to "Pretty. Odd.." It is unlike any album that I have heard.

Favorite Song: "Northern Downpour"

Influences: The Beatles, Beach Boys, My Chemical Romance, the Kinks, the Smiths, Fall Out Boy, Radiohead

Overall Rating: 9/10

Check out the music video for Northern Downpour. (Apparently Brendon Urie cut it from his current setlist because he could not make it through the song without crying)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zouSojyIi94