By Madeline Marks | Staff writer
One of my most recent music obsessions is Panic! At The Disco. I used to listen to the group a few years back, and I purchased Vices & Virtues when it first came out. When I came across this little gem, I just had to get it.
During the summer, Panic! released two singles- “Miss Jackson” and “This Is Gospel.” I preferred “Miss Jackson” because it sounded more like their old sound, even though I’m in love with their new sound.
The single for “Girls/Girls/Boys” was released, and soon after, so was a video. The video was inspired by D’Angelo’s “Untitled.”
Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! was inspired by Las Vegas, where Panic! At The Disco hails from. The major themes are clubs, girls, and the seedier sides of life. But it isn’t trashy. Instead, it sounds very well put together.
Panic! At The Disco’s first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, put them on the map as a “techno-burlesque emo pop group,” but their second album, Pretty Odd, strayed far from their sound. Their third album, Vices & Virtues, included two new members, replacing the old bass player and guitarist, and this sound was much closer to their first album. However, this last album seems to have strayed even further from their original sound than Pretty Odd. They
were still able to keep that techno vibe, using a lot of synths and auto-tune, however it is more put together, and a lot less burlesque.
Some of the best songs on this album are “Nicotine,” “Girls/Girls/Boys” and “Vegas Lights.” “Casual Affair” and “Miss Jackson” are my second favorites, however, after “Casual Affair” (which is the seventh track on the album), things start to really slow down. None of the songs can compare to “Girl That You Love,” definitely my least-favorite song off of the whole album. It’s so synth-y and it has a real ‘80s influence (and the ‘80s should have just stayed in the ‘80s), but the rest of the songs totally make up for it.
You can find this album at Target. And here’s a plus, if you buy the album from Target, you get two Target-exclusive tracks — “Can’t Fight Against The Youth” and “All The Boys.” Both are very awesome songs.
All in all, this has definitely been one of the most anticipated albums of the year. You could put just about every single song on repeat and won’t get tired of it. I already can’t wait to see what they do next.
