Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (Album Review)

Panic! At The Disco has been a drama filled band since they burst onto the music scene. It seems like the band has just about been through it all. At this point it's unclear whether or not P!ATD is an actual band or just the solo project of singer Brendan Urie. While readying the new album, drummer, Spencer Smith announced his problems with drugs problem and current rehabilitation. After that announcement it was basically Brendan Urie doing any and all things solo. He shows up on the cover alone, in the videos alone, and in the promo photos alone all sans the drummer (who had been the other long time member of the band/and basically the band had been cut down to a duo after Ryan Ross and Jon Walker exited the band a couple albums ago).

Aside from all the drama I was actually really interested to hear the album. The first couple of songs released early were okay. The new material seems like it has been met with a ton of mixed reviews. I enjoyed "This Is Gospel" quite a bit. It's interesting to hear the album and think of how much the band has changed over the years. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! is an electronically driven album. In so many ways it mirrors Fall Out Boy's new album. It does this in both sound and style, albeit P!ATD album might be slightly more electronically tinged. The comparison of the bands is in itself interesting considering how close the two bands have been since Panic!'s first album. "Girls/Girls/Boys" is one of my favorite songs on the album and honestly it's one of the best examples of how successful the pairing of Urie's vocals with the more beat driven electronic sound can mesh together to form some really catchy music. If you were a big fan of Fall Out Boy's comeback album Save Rock And Roll this album is definitely for you. You should easily enjoy it. If you were a fan of the band's previous work I'd listen to a stream or check out some tracks before you jumped in on it. It may or may not be your cup of tea. Just be warned this does not sound much like, if at all anything like, classic P!ATD.

One thing this album showcases really well is just how comfortable Urie has gotten as a vocalist. I think Urie's vocals are as good as they have ever been on a Panic! album. He sounds extremely confident on this album and really gives a solid performance. Lyrically I think it's pretty good. Musically it's well done and it sounds really well developed for what the band was trying to accomplish with the album. I think a fan of the band's previous albums may be thrown off by the sound, kind of like some fans were with FOB's new album. Overall though this is a really catchy album. I think this is a fun album full of really well done songs. I don't think this is the band's best album. Their debut it still their best album in my opinion. I do wish the album had a few more "rockers" on it due to the pace. It feels kind of slightly off towards the end of the album.

Don't go into this one expecting what you've heard on previous P!ATD releases. Basically the only thing you can count on with this album (and the band as a whole) is that Brendan Urie is singing. His vocals make it enough P!ATD to at least make it relatable to the other albums. Outside of style shifts and member questions, just judging the music alone and not against the bands previous albums, I like it pretty good. It may not be as memorable as some of the band's earlier work but it's really well done and fairly catchy. It definitely grows on me with each listen. I'd say check it out without expectations and hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised like I was.