This past week graced us with not one, but two new songs off the upcoming album from Panic! At the Disco, Pray For The Wicked. The announcement and release of the songs felt a bit surprising, as well as the fact that two songs were released instead of simply one (as it usually is for album announcements and singles). Considering the album has only 11 songs on it and it doesn't release till June, I'd be surprised if we didn't see at least two or three more songs from the band before the album; nearly half the album will be out before it releases. An odd move, but not necessarily a bad thing.
Now, in terms of the songs themselves, both of them mix a combination of electronic elements and live band sounds, big band sounds. Both songs contain horns, a different feeling for Panic but not surprising. There has always been a theatrical sense to the band, and these songs are no exception. Each song manages to showcase different sides of this aspect of the band; "(F*ck a) Silver Lining" is the more upbeat and bright of the two, both in the tone of the song and the horns themselves. Blaring, almost squeaking notes puncture the song from the horn section, hitting incredibly high notes. The drums vie with the horns as the highlight of the instrumental, precision and tight rhythms keeping the pulse of the song grooving along at a pace that's quite difficult to resist dancing to. Brendon Urie, the only actual member of the band left (I'll get back to that subject further on), continues to show off his vocal abilities with mostly high vocals and lyrics that show he's not done shooting for the stars - or farther. This song works best when looked at together; the individual parts are all so well woven together to create an organic, pulsing jam that is easy to have ringing around your head long after you listen.
"Say Amen (Saturday Night)", while sharing certain similarities to the first song, takes a different direction. Feeling more like it's borrowing from rap and jazz than pop or rock, "Say Amen" lets swagger lead the way, mostly through Brendon Urie's vocals and, again, the drums. Mixing live drumset and 808's, the beat shows the rap influence while Urie switches between low, growling vocal lines and soaring up into the clouds on the chorus (and even higher to jaw dropping notes on the outro). This song feels as though it was meant to be the lead single; it's evident just in the way that it's constructed and the way it sounds. The horns take on a more jazzy feeling this time, with big swings and a mixing of lows and highs that give the song depth and a hint of sensuality. This fits, given the lyrical content of trying to reconcile traditions of old with modernity and the way Urie feels about the world now.
While both of these songs are great, and I can tell that the album will be equally well constructed and presented, it pains me to see the way that the "band" has evolved to this point. While it was big news when half of the band split back in 2009, the shifting of the band from being a band to what it is now has been a slow but steady process over the last decade. Currently, Brendon Urie is listed as the only current member of the band, with all the other instrumentalists being "touring" members. While I am not a member of the industry or in a band myself, I find it a bit hard to call Panic! At the Disco a band if it's simply just Urie. Not that I have anything against him; I think it's clear that he is a very talented individual who has a clear vision for the music he wishes to make. However, it feels wrong for just him to work under the current moniker and not have anyone else get that same credit.
That being said, I still very much enjoy the music, and I look forward to the release of the album this summer.
Rating: 4/5
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