Panic! at the Disco Reinvents Itself with Twisted Opera Death of a Bachelor

Death of a Bachelor by Panic! at the Disco

Released by Fueled by Ramen Records on 1/15/16

Pop/Rock

In recent years, it has become a hot trend for popular bands of yesteryear to reinvent themselves for the modern era. This has proven to be fruitful on multiple occasions, such as Blink-182 coming back with a #1 album and Fall Out Boy becoming modern pop stars. This strategy was no different for former pop punk band and emo icons Panic! At The Disco. Their early 2016 album, Death of a Bachelor, displays the band in uncharted territory to great commercial popularity, earning their first number one album. Written and recorded entirely by lead singer Brendon Urie, the album is clearly meant to be a change of direction from what the fans previously knew as Panic! at the Disco. The album, according to Urie, is simply a portrayal of the life of excess he was living at the time of writing. While some may find this change, and the album itself, a disingenuous attempt at popularity, Urie seems to finally realize his artistic vision in Death of a Bachelor by creating an excellently demonic pop album that combines old school style with modern deviance.

There is a reason that Brendon Urie’s voice is universally admired and respected: it is almost inhuman or robotic how incredible his technical voice ability can be. He is able to hit a crazy range of notes effortlessly, without any noticeable strain on his voice. He even has perfected multiple vocal styles in this album, from operatic to gospel to even crooning. In “Emperor’s New Clothes,”Urie screams with utter fury, yet in “Death of a Bachelor” he is as smooth as silk, with neither style lacking anything. He somehow channels the likes of Freddie Mercury and Frank Sinatra at the same time, while still putting his own stamp on it. Panic! at the Disco arguably earned its original fame and emo cred with Urie’s fantastic singing ability, and that clearly hasn’t changed in the last decade.

The influences behind this album are quite apparent, but at the same time work in perfect harmony with the signature modern style of Brendon Urie’s music. Certain songs on the album, such as “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time” and “Crazy=Genius,” harness the dramatic and operatic work of Queen in a way that give the songs an immense amount of weight. Conversely, songs like “Death of a Bachelor” and “Golden Days” clearly take from the days of big band jazz and swing music, while combining modern electronic and rock elements to make the style feel fresh. Panic! does a great job of infusing these unorthodox genres into pop music and making it flow effortlessly.

Death of a Bachelor has multiple instant pop smashes that encompass Urie’s artistic vision in a wonderfully dark and twisted way. “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time,” “Emperor’s New Clothes” and “Crazy=Genius” are delightfully psychotic and aggressive in a way that gets in the listeners’ faces and refuses to leave their heads. Moreover, songs like “Hallelujah” and ‘Death of a Bachelor” feel reminiscent of days gone by without living in the past, and possibly even opens up genres that were previously ignored by Panic!’s young listeners. Many songs on this album are excellent examples of the kind of work Urie is capable of.

The largest problem with this album is how front-loaded the better tracks are. The first six tracks on this album are all impressive to say the least, but the last five songs are lackluster and repetitive. While no track on Death of a Bachelor is awful in any way, songs such as “Golden Days,” “House of Memories” and “LA Devotee” show nothing new from what we’ve already heard on the album, and do not present the identical material with nearly the same energy. This album had the chance to be nearly perfect through the first half, but loses its footing and just can’t reach the same level in the second half.

These instrumentals on the album do exactly what they should do when it comes to Panic! at the Disco: it perfectly complements Brendon Urie’s voice and style of the song. No matter the genre being explored by Urie, the instrumentals match him without fail, while incorporating modern electronic and pop elements that never take away from what the song is trying to do.

Overall, Urie was able to prove that he could adapt to modern music with Death of a Bachelor, while still maintaining the same sensibilities that brought Panic! at the Disco to fame a decade ago. Death of a Bachelor earns a 7/10: despite its disappointments on the back end, Urie was able to make more scene kid classics with the twisted opera that is this album.