Chances are, if you’re anything like the unsuspecting group around me when I squealed about Panic! at the Disco’s new album dropping, your reaction to my freak-out might be: “Panic! at the Disco is still making music?” This might be because the mention of Panic still connotes embarrassing high school memories of everyone singing that song about “closing the g*ddamn door,” but it might also be because each successive Panic album has come with a new, unrecognizable sound. Their newest album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, released Monday and streamable here, is no different. Panic! at the Disco has reinvented themselves once more.
But despite the band’s dedication to experimentation, Panic’s follow-up to their 2011 album Vices & Virtues strikes a balance of familiar and new – not quite the sound-180 they pulled in their Beatles-inspired sophomore album Pretty. Odd., but not in line with their bombastic and theatrical roots, either. Instead, it’s a little of both and a splash of something more subdued, too. Think eerie digital atmospherics and old-school video games. Not to worry, though – Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! isn’t without Panic’s signature catchy, crashing choruses (just listen to “This Is Gospel” and try not to belt along).
Want a taste? Check out the official music video for “Girls/Girls/Boys” that was released yesterday, just a small sampling of their new style.