Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: cnn.net Panic! At the Disco's sophomore effort is a mixed bag that does show some growth for the young band. Their first single, "Nine in the Afternoon" is one of the more upbeat tracks on "Pretty.Odd."

Growing as a person and changing one's outlook on life is inevitable. We may not always agree with the changes, and might even try to stop them from happening, but it's ultimately something that no one is completely immune from, so we just have to deal with it. Sorry.

But I digress. Despite this dour outlook on life, I present this tiny, time-tested case study, which may or may not make up for the gloomy proclamation in the paragraph above: If this universally accepted standard is synonymous with the concept of an ongoing science experiment, musicians are most definitely playing the role of scientist. Take, for instance, Panic at the Disco. Since their debut in 2005, the heavily made-up quartet from Las Vegas, Nevada has proved to be more than just another slide under the cultural microscope. A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, the group's first album, was a massive hit, seamlessly blending sarcastic barbs and deceptively cheeky stances on such often-overused song clichés as everyday life and relationships, with violin and mandolin-heavy hooks, a Victorian Era-meets-Tim Burton-esque sense of personal style, and a love affair with long-winded song titles. With singles such as 2005's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", "But It's Better If We Do", and "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" getting major airplay on the radio and their videos in heavy rotation on television, it was almost certain that this new emo/punk-pop hybrid would be able to join the ranks of other alternative bands of the day as My Chemical Romance in sheer popularity alone. But suddenly, something happened that threw off the experiment, not to mention their growing fan base - a self imposed retreat from the music scene.

In what can be seen as a natural (yet notoriously controversial) evolutionary step as artists, Panic spent three years in seclusion to properly reflect on their sudden success and to fiddle around with their sound, attempting to simply try something new, and to challenge themselves creatively, all in the hopes of giving their loyal fans a fun record to enjoy. Taking cues from such music staples as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Who, Panic hope to have achieved that simple goal with their sophomore record, Pretty.Odd. While fans have already had plenty of time to muse over the abrupt leave of absence and voice their opinions (the sudden loss of the exclamation point from their name has already left some of their fans wary about any more drastic changes), the band wastes no time addressing their concerns and reassuring them that it was all for the best. In their classically playful banter, lead vocalist Brendon Urie, 20, gives a tongue-in-cheek answer for his and band mates Ryan Ross (21), Jon Walker (22) and Spencer Smith (20)'s temporary disappearing act on the album's first track "We're So Starving':

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