Panic! At The Disco strays from their original ‘emo’ style to channel older artists in a self-described “mix between Sinatra and Queen” that makes up their smooth-voiced, glam album. Death of a Bachelor, released on January 15, 2016, clearly draws on the artists’ jazz and rock genres leading to a completely new P!ATD experience. With the success of the first two singles, “Hallelujah” and the title-single “Death of a Bachelor”, the album’s new influences are clearly a helpful choice. After hearing the swing beat on “Crazy=Genius”, the change in feel for this album is no longer up for discussion.
This is the first album with only band member Brendon Urie remaining. Although previous member Dallon Weekes continues to tour with the band, he is no longer a current participant in the band and did not have any writing credits on the album; all credits went to Urie and his team. Urie also received credits for guitar, bass, piano, percussion and several other instruments. Embarking on a summer tour for Death of a Bachelor, along with Weezer and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Urie will be accompanied by a touring band including Weekes.
Music videos have always played a large part in the success of P!ATD’s albums. Accompanying this album are videos for four of the six singles. The first “Hallelujah”, introduces us to the album with cut scenes between Urie singing in a church confessional and struggling to find his way through an ever-changing maze. The video is successful in garnering new interest for the album as it has gained over 14 million views since its release in July of 2015. The next video, “Emperor’s New Clothes”, follows a character from another video, 2013’s “This is Gospel”. Opening with the end of “Gospel”, “Emperor” follows Urie’s character as he falls to a Hell-like dimension where he quickly transforms into a demon complete with wings and horns. While the video seems to recognize the changes in P!ATD, it also offers the band’s iconic creepy style with singing skeletons and several cuts in the flow of the video. The next, “Victorious”, showcases Urie succeeding at mediocre ‘wins’—such as not talking to an ex and helping an elderly woman across the street—with extraordinary results, like winning the lottery and the attention of women. The video captures the upbeat and empowering feeling of the single, however, the imagery does become trite and therefore the song itself begins to feel cliché. “Death of a Bachelor”, the latest video, actually succeeds as it channels Urie’s Sinatra-inspiration again with a throwback to the 60s. This glossy, black-and-white video of the ballad is directed at his 2013 marriage to long-time partner, Sarah Urie née Orzechowski.
“LA Devotee” and “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”, the two singles not accompanied by music videos still capture the essence of the new album. The former, an upbeat, pop inspired piece, successfully pulls in a California feel with the fun drumbeat and bright sound. The audio clip, posted on YouTube by the band’s label, Fueled by Ramen, features flashes of iconic imagery of Los Angeles that complement the lyrics of the song. “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”, which takes advantage of a central beat reminiscent of old-styled Bond music, pulls you into its story-style of song. P!ATD then employs lyrics such as “lost a bet to a guy in a Chiffon skirt/But I make these high heels work/I’ve told you time and time again/I’m not as think as you drunk I am” to remind the listeners of their atypical style.
The album features four other songs that portray the changes in sound while still keeping the general Panic feel. However, while “Golden Days”, one of the final four songs, is a great filler in the album, it does leave something to be desired. The chorus showcases some amazing vocals from Urie, but it doesn’t really go anywhere from there and remains on the same level for the majority of the piece. The same goes for “House of Memories”, which feels a little ‘done’—It is clearly a Panic! At The Disco song, yet not necessarily anything more. The spooky-pop feeling is there but the Sinatra/Queen feel that was promised is absent.
Death of a Bachelor, as an entire piece, is one of Panic’s best. Urie proves that being alone can lead to extreme artistic growth. I expect nothing less than success from this album.