Panic At The Disco, Pretty Odd

Panic At the Disco
Pretty Odd (Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance)
Verdict: An ambitious attempt that doesn't quite pan out.
Herald Rating: * * *

Fear not, Panic fans, the band may have dropped the exclamation mark from their name but, they assure us on the first track, they are still the same band.

The fact they feel need to point this out to listeners, in the intro We're So Starving, is somewhat disconcerting. Why would anyone assume they weren't the same band? As the following 14 tracks progress, however, it becomes apparent why the band issued the affirmation.

Pretty Odd is not Panic as you know them. Gone is the frantic synth-pop-rock of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, and in its place, a more refined, mellower sound that is anything but emo. The word joyful even springs to mind.

It is an ambitious album, recorded in part at the Abbey Road Studios, that draws clear inspiration from the Beatles, in particular their Sergeant Pepper days. There are horns, bells, whistles, strings, harpsichords, banjos and possibly the odd ukelele. With an orchestral accompaniment to nearly every track, the band is clearly trying to make a statement.

It is an admirable effort, which works well on tracks like She's a Handsome Woman, That Green Gentleman and Northern Downpour. But the constant tomfoolery and genre-switching becomes cloying as the album jumps from gypsy sing-alongs to bluegrass hoedowns.