So, I know what a lot of you are thinking? Who the
fuck are P!ATD? Maybe one of the most hyped bands of 2005 in the pop-punk world, Panic! At The Disco have exploded onto the scene in full fashion. It wasn't only last summer when they recorded their first song for label Fueled By Ramen, "It's Time To Dance", for a sampler. From there, they recorded demos, and then this album. Their melodic blend of dance beats, cleverly structured pop-punk riffs and smart tongue-in-cheek lyrics got them noticed by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, and I suppose the rest is history.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is nearly impossible to escape from. It is a fever you can't sweat out, and it never lets go during its 13-song extraganza. This is the album many bands try to write nowadays, and fail miserably, falling into the abyss that is Purevolume and Myspace. What Panic! have done is split the album into two halves, the "futuristic" first side, and a more "nostalgic" second side. It doesn't show as well as they described it, with much of the music sounding similar the more you listen to it, with few instruments really setting the two sections apart (The use of the nostalgic piano in the second half easily differs them from the first half).
It begins with "Introduction", which is like the sound of someone trying to tune into a radio. We get a glimpse of a song from later on (With heavy noise I might add), and then it's onto the first song. "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" is such a clever song to start off with, with catchy lyrics and a clean acoustic leading into the full band playing. Lyrics like "Sit tight, I'm gonna need you to keep tight, c'mon just snap snap snap your fingers with me" layered over a simple chord structure just stick in your head, and by the time it's reached the breakdown, the dance beats fit with the band's style perfectly. "London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines" is quite frankly an attack at the Internet scene, and constant judging of bands by scenesters everywhere. It is much more fast-paced, with a synth constantly playing through the back of the verse. And the chorus is incredibly difficult to forget about again, with lyrics "We’re just a wet dream for the webzine, make us hit, make us hip, make us scene/Or shrug us off your shoulders, don’t approve a single word that we wrote.” gracing it. And the bridge just switches styles between standard pop-punk riffs to a more traditional folksy style breakdown so quietly, you don't notice it.
"Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks" is a much more "dance" style song, utilizing a high-pitched guitar melody over a simple drum beat and rolling bassline. The vocals have some nice effects on, which make his voice a lot "electronic", referring to that "futuristic" style I mentioned. Oh, I should mention something. This band is in love with Chuck Palahniuk and references to movies and stuff. This song happens to reference to Chuck's book "Choke", but whatever. Next up is "Camisado", another classic pop-punk melody running through 3 minutes. And once again, the drums and guitar riffs complement each other so well, which makes the bass harder to make out. The vocals really bring the song out more as well, as he sings "Can't take the kid from the fight, take the fight from the kid, sit back, relax, sit back, relapse again." It's just insanely catchy, especially by the breakdown where everything gets very distorted and heavier. "Time To Dance" is a hard song for me to listen to, since I listened to the demo of this song for so long, and it sounded great then. I have a tendency to dislike bands that remake their own songs, and only make them worse. Yet, P!ATD have outdone themselves with a song which pretty defines their style of music. The pop-punk melodies and riffs shine as the vocals are sung so strongly over them, yet in the background you can hear noises. Sometimes it's like a synth, sometimes it's just noise. And the effects on the singer’s voice in this song are so funky. That's right, I said funky.
"Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"222 is one of the songs I'm not as much a fan of. All albums have these I guess. It's a much more downbeat song, using a clean, palm-muted guitar and slow keyboard effects in the verses. Of course, when the chorus comes round, it rushes into the band's regular style of music, but I think it's quite dull and could be brought out more. The "Intermission" track on this album actually works well, unlike most you see on albums nowadays. It begins with the radio tuning in again, and then hastily goes into a dance song for about 35 seconds, which is actually quite fun to listen to. Then an announcement from the radio is made saying the broadcast it cut, and it heads into a quite simply beautiful piano solo. Noise slowly builds up at the end, and it then leads into the two part song. "But It's Better If You Do" reminds me of Las Vegas, being that it's about a bachelor party. The song entertains with chord progressions being played on piano over a palm-muted guitar and slapped bass. It sounds very interesting indeed, and the chorus just gets better. The use of the vaudevillian pianos and the melodic structure of the song just makes this band shine more, proving they can write more than "dance-pop-punk" fusions.
The second part, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", is all about the groom finding out the bride is a whore. By far the catchiest song on the album, as lyrics like "I chime in with a 'Haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door?'" flow contagiously throughout the song. It's very repetitive, as the verses are played twice every time, but it's oh so hard to resist. There are no dance breakdowns here, but a simple and effective pop-punk song, with witty lyrics and clever rhythms. "I Constantly Thank God For Esteban" is another downbeat song, but works much better than the previous one. A clean-picked guitar accompanies an old-style drum beat and some somewhat pretentious lyrics. The breakdown to this song sounds a little 50's, with harsh guitars switching pitch so quickly, and extravagant vocals sounding off. "There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey. You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet" is an interesting song. It sounds a little Western, with another simple piano melody playing single notes throughout the song, as basslines and strummed clean chords play along. Another insanely catchy song, with lyrics rolling out the speakers that you will find hard to forget. The song builds up throughout, especially the second verse, which is just beautifully structured (The clicking of hands just sounds so cheesy, yet so fine against the nostalgic music). Finally to cap it off, a little horn bridge just brings out the songwriting abilities of this band. Last but not least, another well structured song by the name of "Build God, Then We'll Talk". It's a perfect finale, switching between a slowed down verse with a clever drum beat, strong vocals and more tongue-in-cheek lyrics like "And not to mention
The constable, and his proposition for that "virgin"/Yes, the one the lawyer met with on "strictly business"". It's hard to describe, since there is so much going on in this song. Xylophones, and pianos keep the band's sound fresh, and the occasional hints of guitar bursts in the verses just tease you until the chorus. It caps off with a violin outro along with the band playing the chorus again, and it just sounds new again, even though it's just the chorus
Defining Panic! At The Disco under your typical pop-punk band would be an insult in my books. Then again, the pre-orders were only sent out today, so I've been whoring this album all day. Could this be another case of Fall Out Boy's
From Under The Cork Tree, an album I rarely listen to now? All I can say is that I hope not. I've thoroughly enjoyed this band from the minute I first listened to them, and now the album is finally here, it's a brilliantly crafted pop-punk record. Sure, this band utilizes extra instruments and witty effects to add to their already catchy melodies, but they do it so well. Where many bands will use these as a gimmick, Panic have made them another instrument to the band. Don't look here if you want a meaningful album filled with heartfelt lyrics.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is good clean fun, designed to get you moving. And my God, Panic sure can pull it off well. My only gripe is that a lot of the songs get repetitive. The chorus' are usually repeated twice, and riffs in the songs rarely change. Still, it sounds so
damn catchy when you listen to it for the first time.
P.S.: I got this through the mail from a pre-order :)
[url]http://www.panicatthedisco.com[/url]
[url]http://www.purevolume.com/panicatthedisco[/url] (Listen to "But It's Better If You Do", "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage" and the demo for "Time To Dance")
