My Amazon Reviews: Panic! At The Disco "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!"

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.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Motion City Soundtrack "Go"

Go Get Some Motion City Soundtrack
4 Out Of 5 Stars

I loved "My Dinosaur Life" by Motion City Soundtrack a few years back, enough to automatically grab "Go" the week of its release. MCS are one of a vanishing type of bands (with the demise of Panic at The Disco and Fall Out Boy) making highly melodic but energetic punky-pop with wit and verve. But "Go" finds the band in a sudden shift towards maturity. It's a move that suits the band well.

"Go" kicks off as you would expect, with a hyper and literary "Circuits and Wires" that complains about singer Justin Pierre's faulty brain and a temper addled tongue. It's properly cheeky and hooky, as is the obvious single and following song, "True Romance." But then you start to notice something; the guitars are more acoustic than electric and the pulse isn't as frantic. In fact, "Go" sounds downright adult. There's nothing here as snotty as "@!#?@!" from "My Dinosaur Life" and, in one case, the strings swell up and you might even get choked up.

"Everyone Will Die" strums a sad lyric that is also the CD's shortest song. "The cycle of intense retrospection before the curtain call...who you going to love in the meantime before it catches you?" pleads Justin just as the strings swell. It's as big a surprise and stunner as when Green Day recorded "Good Riddance/Time of Your Life." Even more pointed (but not as shocking in sounds) is "Timelines," where the band produces what could easily be a fan fave as they rattle off life events like

"Catholic school, my private hell
I stuttered till the age of 12
Discovered sex at 17
And soon thereafter, self-esteem,"

Which renders almost everything else on "Go" irrelevant. Motion City Soundtrack are a band that has been making remarkably constantly good albums for a long time, and this may be one of their best yet. After several weeks of listens, it continues to grow on me. Always a good sign.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Panic! At The Disco "Vices and Virtues"

Wingtips Waltz Across Naive Wooden Floors 
4 Out of 5 Stars

Reduced to a duo, Panic! At The Disco (now with reclaimed exclamation marks!) limp back to their emo-roots on "Vices and Virtues." Drummer Spencer Smith and guitar/vocalist Brendon Urie keep the name alive as bassist Jon Walker and guitarist Ryan Ross split. It's hard to tell who split for what reason, but "Vices and Virtues" is a clear step back from the goofy psychedelia of "Pretty Odd." Urie and Smith didn't completely drop their pastiche of everything 60's (as filtered perhaps, through XTC), but this album is in no way an obvious follow-up to "Pretty Odd's" naked ambition.

In fact, I was one of the reviewers who thought PO was a five star effort, reinvigorating the pomp and entertainment of bands like Jellyfish. Opener "Ballad of Mona Lisa" certainly attempts a recall of that giddy power-pop, than the album lurches firmly back into the mold of "Fever You Can't Sweat Out." This return to emo is not a vice, as PATD is really good at it, but it's not always a virtue. Urie and Smith keep up an energetic pace, and they love the production style that includes the phrase "and the kitchen sink." However, these two were not PATD's original principle songwriters, and some of the songs lack that killer hook.

That isn't a problem on the finale, "Nearly Witches." This song sounds like a leftover from the PO sessions, contains two kitchen sinks and has the killer hook. As "Vice's" oddball out song, it's a standout along with "Mona Lisa." "Let's Kill Tonight," "Ready To Go" and the ballad "Always" are the other keepers on the CD, and indicate that is Urie and Smith can work on their writing chops, this edition of Panic! At The Disco may be one that lasts.