On Jan. 15 Panic! at the Disco released their new album, entitled Death of a Bachelor, much to the amazement of fans who thought the band was broken up.
In a way, it is. Last year two of the band’s remaining three members left, leaving only lead vocalist Brendan Urie. Instead of taking this as a sign that he should move on, Urie hired some trumpet players and explored his own sound, stemming from the roots of Queen and Frank Sinatra. Out of these sessions came the genius that is Death of a Bachelor, an album that consists of Urie playing every instrument other than the horn.
“Victorious” is the first track, a pre-gaming, pop-rock anthem that’s just begging for club play. This song sets the mood for the rest of the album, with lyrics chanting “All my friends we’re glorious / tonight we are victorious”.
“LA Devotee” was a song all about Urie’s love for Los Angeles. Considering that Urie promoted the album as being focused around life in LA, having just this one song was a little disappointing. The song was great, don’t get me wrong, it had a chorus that longs for you to belt it out in the shower, and it’s the perfect range for Urie’s charismatic, operatic voice. I just wish that he had done more songs like it.
“Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time” was my favorite song on the album, a throwback to their original album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. It featured a sample of b-52’s “Rock Lobster”, which, while I didn’t think it was going to work, went along perfectly with the rest of the song. However, the other song that was meant to sound like original Panic! songs, “The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty” fell short. The Sinatra vibe that Urie achieved with so many other songs just wasn’t there, and the party-boy lyrics conflicted with sinuous melody to create a song that was difficult to follow.
The title song, “Death of a Bachelor” redeemed all the songs that didn’t reach the bar of former Panic! music. If the listener didn’t know that Urie was going for a Sinatra-Queen crossover when they started listening, they certainly knew by the end of the song. The song took it slower than the rest of the album, with a prominent bass line that compliments Urie’s deep voice beautifully. The Sinatra-style croon that he was going for the entire album was achieved during this song, and it was glorious. I strongly advise everyone to listen to this song.
Overall, while “Death of a Bachelor” didn’t meet the standard I was hoping that it would, it still had a few good tracks. The album definitely proved that Urie has lots of talent and great ideas, and once he pulls them together and stops trying to be the former Panic!, his career is going to launch even higher.
The Pathfinder gives Panic! at the Disco’s Death of a Bachelor 7.0/10.
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