Panic at The Disco
After the commercial success of 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and 2008’s Pretty. Odd., sold-out tours across the globe (including an appearance at 2009’s Coke Zero Fest), frequent accolades and two Grammy nominations, July 2009 proved to be a rather interesting month for Panic! At The Disco, as it signaled the departures of guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, thus leaving the rock outfit with only two remaining members.
An event such as this one would’ve broken up many a band, especially considering that PATD were smack-bang in the middle of preparing their third album – yet frontman Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith decided to do the Batman & Robin thing and soldier on as a dynamic duo. “There was a month or two where we didn’t have any material or direction, and that was scary,” Brendon describes. “It took a lot of work to get up every day and just try to make the best record we could – especially because we hadn’t written in so long – but once we found our groove, it seemed like nothing could slow us down.”
After getting their material in order, the Las Vegas boys headed out of Bat Country and entered the studio with producer John Feldmann (The Used, Saosin), where they soon realised they had more songs left in the tank than they’d initially thought. Brendon explains, “It just felt right to keep at it, so we wrote 15 more songs in the studio with John as we were recording.” After their time with Feldmann, Brendon and Spencer made what was meant to be a quick stop with another acclaimed producer Butch Walker (Pink, Weezer) to brush up on a few things. However, it seemed like PATD weren’t quite done with the writing process, and ended up replacing their older material with newer songs during these sessions. “We never expected to record more songs with another producer [after the work with Feldmann], so it was a surprise, but equally awesome,” Brendon says.
The end product of this manic period is Vices & Virtues, PATD’s third studio album, which is billed as a whole new monster and different from anything they’ve done prior. “It’s always been important for us not to copy what we’ve done in the past,” Brendon affirms. “The songs on Vices & Virtues are very stylistically diverse and that happened naturally. There are songs that have a jazz feel and then rock songs with strings and hyper-energetic moments, too. It’s really all over the place.”
Aside from their unconventional sound, PATD’s other defining characteristic has always been their quirky and metaphorical lyrics. Fans are undoubtedly wondering if Vices & Virtues will be a continuation of this trend – but I’ll let Brendon answer that. “A lot of the songs are very straight-forward about what we’re going through, but there are a few that have a little more of a fantastical presentation. It was important that we were excited with the words on this record and that they touched us in some way. A lot of the albums we were listening to, while we were making this record, have a verse about one thing and a chorus about something else, but it doesn’t matter as long as the song is good and I think that discovery gave us carte blanche for chaos… so we went nuts.”
PATD’s music video for The Ballad of Mona Lisa, their first single off the album, has already found regular rotation on MTV and snuck its way onto radio. Filled with more hooks than a pirate ship, this anthemic track is on its way to becoming a fan favourite and another commercial success for the band. “I think that song signified a fresh start for us in a lot of ways. It’s similar in the vibe and energy of the first record and it really proved that we could just have a good time and not care what other people think,” Brendon declares.
Undoubtedly, 28 March 2011 will have marked the beginning of a new era for Panic! At The Disco, as Vices & Virtues becomes the next chapter in their musical journey. Hopefully, they’ll continue to write sins, not tragedies…
For more info on the band, visit www.panicatthedisco.com.
Written By : Sergio Pereira
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