Can you be truly weird?3 Out Of 5 Stars
Panic! At The Disco take on a heavy banner when they proclaim themselves "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!" If you're going to call your album with that sort of proclamation, you'd best have the material to back it up. That's not the case. There's nothing wierd or rare here, just some standard issue emo-pop.
Which is OK if you're into that sort of thing. Along with their compatriots, Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco weave hooks in the middle of their pop/dance aspirations. There's a few more quality on this album than the previous "Vices and Virtues," and the recorded sound is eons beyond FoB's "Save Rock and Roll." They love their handclaps and hey-heys, and aren't afraid to play with the auto-tune, just short of overusing the thing. You can also tell where the inspiration for the big hit, "Miss Jackson," comes from when they ask "are you nasty, Miss Jackson?" In other words, what have PatD done for you lately?
They know what they need to do to make up for lost ground of "Vices and Virtues." Songs like "Nicotine," the new wave-ish "Girls Girls Boys," and even the Sesame Street sample on "Vegas Lights" scream, hey, we're back to our bread and butter! Hooks! Choruses! Brendon Urie singing at full-throttle! So yes, this is a decent album. The big surprise comes at the album with the affecting ballad "The End Of All Things." Elton John may have appeared on Fall Out Boy's album, but he's making his influence here. It's a beautiful song, although the auto-tune could have been ditched.
That's about the only "Weird" moment on "Too Weird Yo Live, Too Rare To Die." Frankly, they only lived up to their album titles on the power pop gem "Pretty Odd." That doesn't mean PatD aren't ready to share their pop thrills with you. Just be prepared to hear an album that's more well done than rare.
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