Pretty. Odd.

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For Panic At The Disco's sophomore follow-up to their Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen break-through debut 2005's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, the band holed up in a Las Vegas studio with renowned producer Rob Mathes. What they created is nothing short of a masterpiece, the 60's pop-inspired Pretty Odd. This time around, the band opted for real instruments and live tracking over Pro Tools software, citing influences as The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles.

Says guitarist Ryan Ross in an interview with Billboard, We want to make music [that is] simple and timeless and not too pretentious. The band also did additional tracking at the Abbey Road Studio in London, adding a Beatles-esque flavor to their usual Vegas flare. The song lyrics have moved away from the whole one-liner, sarcastic thing says Ross, in favor of more everyday things.

Lead single, "Nine In The Afternoon" has the band showing a healthy dose of maturity, having grown as songwriters and instrumentalists.The title gives it away instantly- Pretty.Odd. (don't forget the periods) is not exactly the album that affirmed admirers of Panic At The Disco will have expected. The quartet, then teenagers, hit big in 2005 when A Fever You Can't Sweat Out rode its hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and its striking video to huge sales, defining their niche bridging emo and theatrical art-rock.

Three years later Panic (they've ditched the exclamation mark) return with an expansive album that shamelessly, and very skilfully, takes inspiration directly from the Beatles' bigger budget productions and the baroque classic rock that came in their wake. They must use every instrument in the orchestral palette. But this is hardly a trip to "guilty pleasures" territory, four minute pop tunes polished almost to sterility.

Even the catchy, imposing opener "We're So Starving", where they protest "we're still the same band", is playful rather than predictable. "That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)" offers so many styles it defies categorisation, the darkly comic sixties pastiche "When the Day Met the Night" could wear the vague "sunshine pop" label comfortably and the likes of "Pas De Cheval" and nicely wistful first single "Nine in the Afternoon" stick in the head after a single hearing. Also the token acoustic strumalong is called "Folkin' Around".

Whether their fanbase actively craved such a diverse display of ambition is moot, but Pretty.Odd. is an impressive and deservedly popular collection. For once it seems that the public agree with those critics who so often describe lovingly crafted, low-selling tributes to genres past as perfect pop.

--Steve Jelbert

Save This Not For Me

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    Rudy Cham liked and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    I really liked. The album itself was great. I wasn't expecting this kind of style from them but they did pretty good with it. Favs from the album are nine in the afternoon, northern downpour and I... more
    
    I really liked. The album itself was great. I wasn't expecting this kind of style from them but they did pretty good with it. Favs from the album are nine in the afternoon, northern downpour and I have friends in holy places. I think the reason that this album got poor reviews is the fact that people wanted the old patd.
    
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    Jen Reinheimer favorited and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    I absolutely adore this album. It's completely unlike their first, and I think it's a nice departure from their usual style. The songs are clearly heavily 60s-pop influenced, and will almost surely... more
    
    I absolutely adore this album. It's completely unlike their first, and I think it's a nice departure from their usual style. The songs are clearly heavily 60s-pop influenced, and will almost surely leave you smiling.
    
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    ETHOS - PAPUA liked and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    Without my friends I would have:
    a slimmer figure
    more money
    a higher GPA
    & I would be miserable.
    
    2 months
    
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    Mine PerHer reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    :3 awesome album!
    
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    Johnny Vazquez liked and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    Different but its still a good album...
    
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    Mariana Nascimento de Souza favorited and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    In the beginning, I think that the album is odd (like the name :P), but after listen a thousand of times, I got used to it and started to love like I love their first album.
    
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    Lucas Nunes reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
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    DreeDree favorited and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    I still remember the first time I listen to this album. I only realized that I was in fact listening to Panic because of Brendon's voice. It needed some time to grow on me. But I think that in the... more
    
    I still remember the first time I listen to this album. I only realized that I was in fact listening to Panic because of Brendon's voice. It needed some time to grow on me. But I think that in the end it was a great album, a little different but pretty nice :D
    
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    mamamikey liked and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    This is by far my favorite album from them by a mile!
    
    5 months
    
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    Sara Kaempf favorited and reviewed Pretty. Odd.
    
    Not sure if it's just me, but I can easily see why P!ATD split. I'm guessing Ryan and Brendon did a little bit of compromising on this record. I've always seen Brendon as more into "dark" or heavier... more
    
    Not sure if it's just me, but I can easily see why P!ATD split. I'm guessing Ryan and Brendon did a little bit of compromising on this record. I've always seen Brendon as more into "dark" or heavier music on a very low level , and Ryan as a Beatle type of guy. Personally, I hear both of their interests morphed into this record.
    
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    Sara Kaempf I hear more of Ryan's style, but Brendon is defiantly in there!
    
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For Panic At The Disco's sophomore follow-up to their Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen break-through debut 2005's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, the band holed up in a Las Vegas studio with renowned producer Rob Mathes. What they created is nothing short of a masterpiece, the 60's pop-inspired Pretty Odd. This time around, the band opted for real instruments and live tracking over Pro Tools software, citing influences as The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles. Says guitarist Ryan Ross in an interview with Billboard, We want to make music [that is] simple and timeless and not too pretentious. The band also did additional tracking at the Abbey Road Studio in London, adding a Beatles-esque flavor to their usual Vegas flare. The song lyrics have moved away from the whole one-liner, sarcastic thing says Ross, in favor of more everyday things. Lead single, "Nine In The Afternoon" has the band showing a healthy dose of maturity, having grown as songwriters and instrumentalists.The title gives it away instantly- Pretty.Odd. (don't forget the periods) is not exactly the album that affirmed admirers of Panic At The Disco will have expected. The quartet, then teenagers, hit big in 2005 when A Fever You Can't Sweat Out rode its hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and its striking video to huge sales, defining their niche bridging emo and theatrical art-rock. Three years later Panic (they've ditched the exclamation mark) return with an expansive album that shamelessly, and very skilfully, takes inspiration directly from the Beatles' bigger budget productions and the baroque classic rock that came in their wake. They must use every instrument in the orchestral palette. But this is hardly a trip to "guilty pleasures" territory, four minute pop tunes polished almost to sterility. Even the catchy, imposing opener "We're So Starving", where they protest "we're still the same band", is playful rather than predictable. "That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)" offers so many styles it defies categorisation, the darkly comic sixties pastiche "When the Day Met the Night" could wear the vague "sunshine pop" label comfortably and the likes of "Pas De Cheval" and nicely wistful first single "Nine in the Afternoon" stick in the head after a single hearing. Also the token acoustic strumalong is called "Folkin' Around". Whether their fanbase actively craved such a diverse display of ambition is moot, but Pretty.Odd. is an impressive and deservedly popular collection. For once it seems that the public agree with those critics who so often describe lovingly crafted, low-selling tributes to genres past as perfect pop. --Steve Jelbert

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Pretty. Odd.

By Panic at the Disco, 2008

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By Panic at the Disco, 2008

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