PANIC! AT THE DISCO: Death of A Bachelor MUSIC REVIEW

PANIC!!!!

...At a disco somewhere...Probably in Hell?...Around sometime...During Frank Sinatra's time?...

...This is Death of a Bachelor and that was a bad joke.

Panic! At The Disco...aka Brendon Urie's Solo Band. And it's not just because he is the only founding member in the band, but the album in its entirety sounds like a solo project. Well, he admitted it...but that doesn't stop him to continue what he (and the ex-members) had worked for. Plus, most people know P!ATD more than they know Urie (I'm serious, that's what he said in an interview. Try look it up.) Seriously, who doesn't freaking know Brendon Urie by now?!?!

I have been a fan of P!ATD since I heard "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" and I could remember his name more than the ex-members after a promotion article for Pretty.Odd (obviously because he's the frontman, after all). Plus, his last name rhymes with "urine"....Don't be me, kids. And even though I am a fan, that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy other tracks that aren't singles. I mean, I do...but very few could be in my favourite list. Their first three albums were a mixed, and the Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die is the weakest album from the band to me (but the singles were really, really good).

So when I heard the new singles for Death of A Bachelor, I wasn't expecting anything good from the album, let alone being as good as the singles. Well......I was wrong. In fact, the album is vastly better than the band's previous album.

First off, I have to give huge credit to Brendon Urie as a multi-instrumentalist musician, because a lot of the instrument are played by him--mostly. As well as his vocal performance in a lot of the tracks here, I mean WOW does he knows what he's capable of. Just listen to his singles "Victorious", "Death of a Bachelor" and--

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! F-F-FUDGE ME, YOU SICK, SICK, SICK, FUDGE OF A DEVIL!!!

...Dammit...Okay, I have to say this quick: "Emperor's New Clothes"...is one of the best songs he ever made, and one of the best songs that show his vocal capability. Lyrically and musically, it is like listening a Disney villain song, and I've always love that kind of approach. But this song...alongside with the music video...it is a song that I myself try to avoid so I don't get the image of Demon Urie again. Like dammit man, look at that face, it's freaking scary as hell!! It sucks because I would listen to this song all day if I want to, but I have to avoid his appearance from being in my nightmare....Don't come into my nightmare, please Demon Urie? Go haunt your other worshippers, but me... 

Anyway, upon hearing the singles, I got the idea that the album is going to be very diverse (not just with the multiple instruments). There are some tracks that pay homage to Frank Sinatra (eg. "Death of A Bachelor"), tracks that are fast-paced (eg. "Golden Days"), tracks that are so grandeur (eg. "Impossible Year") and could have been straight out of a musical theatre (eg. "Crazy=Genius") and none that felt simplistic. Hell, I could argue that this is almost like a sequel to their album Vices & Virtue (Deluxe Edition) if you listen to track like "House of Memories" and "The Good, The Bad and The Dirty".

Lyrically, the album has this theme about getting the success and living the life of fame and fortune, and how love and desire plays around the situation from what I could interpret. "Victorious" is all about winning, "Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time" is about the victory party and the after party, "LA Devotee" is about getting shites in L.A and loving it, and "Impossible Year" is a very sad and heartbreaking finale track about there's no way of being happy anymore, despite the fame, the fortune and even love. It could also be a realization that happiness and all that creates this emotion is just an illusion. Or maybe the singer just lost someone very special to him on that specific year, and no matter what illusion of happiness, none can lighten him up anymore. Whatever it is, this track is damn good as a finale of the album.

I know I might have been praising this album too much, but there are actually some negatives that I have to addressed. This album is very diverse--in fact, too diverse for its own good. Musically, it feels inconsistent. There's not one constant element that can be found in all of the track, to make them all feel connected. And there's not much of Frank Sinatra-styled music in this album. I wish there was more (but then again, it could possibly made the entire album boring). And despite having strong points in each track, there's going to be weak points in them that can end up skippable (whether if it's annoying or boring). And while I do enjoy "Death of A Bachelor", I just felt like the chorus didn't have to go at high point. He could have done it in a mellow tone, just saying. And lastly and pretty damn annoying here, the electric drum. The use of the instrument for some songs (especially "Death of A Bachelor" and "Hallelujah") felt weak and not genuine. I'm not so into electric drum anyway, so don't quote me on this.

Overall, I think this is a really, really good album from P!ATD, if it hadn't been more consistent with its idea. After this, I am looking forward to what Urie's going to offer us. Now live like a champion and let it not be the death of a bachelor, Mr. Brendon Urie....

At least don't turn into Demon Urie in my dream, like holy fudge, God save me!!!

With that said, this album got my rating of:3.5/5

Favourite tracks: Victorious, Hallelujah, Crazy=Genius, House of Memories, Impossible Year

Like tracks: Death of A Bachelor, Golden Days, LA Devotee, The Good The Bad And The Dirty

Mixed tracks: Emperor's New Clothes

Dislike tracks: Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time