three years later? And how the band became Brendon Urie 's solo project in the back-half of the 2010s? (Not to mention Urie's pivotal pop turn on Taylor Swift 's "Me!" during the Lover era.) Remember the emo heroes who made A Fever You Can't Sweat Out back in 2005? The Sgt. Over the years, there have been many Panic! At The Disco s - and they’ve all been been nothing short of interesting. Like "Viva Las Vengeance"? Try The Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady And most importantly, use it to check out some monumental music of yore - that perhaps you may have never heard until now. Rather, take the following as mere guideposts these Panic! at the Disco songs merely evoke their feeling, their vibe, their groove.
Also: none of the below selections are carbon copies of any sort - most songs blend half a dozen other acts in the stew. To clarify, nothing on the record can be considered a "ripoff." When you're a musician of any persuasion, everything that came before you should be considered the lending library.
Here's a guide to how each song can lead you to a classic album from rock's past - ranging from artists from the early '70s to the early '90s. If you're unfamiliar with the classic-rock and punk-adjacent canons, Viva Las Vengeance can act as a Rosetta Stone to find some new (old) jams. Throughout the album's 12 tracks, the exultant music bounces from punk to bar-rock to new wave and back again - your parents' record collection, raided.
Rich electric guitar, and "Star Spangled Banger" namedrops Dead Kennedys - and that's just on the first half. Rex," "Local God" references the hesher-ready B.C. It's all there in the lyrics: "Middle of a Breakup" contains an exhortation to "gimme T. (And at least partly recorded on analog equipment, to boot!) And when you've got an inimitable presence like Urie front and center, you can play around with the musical components without messing up the magic.Īnd in the case of Viva Las Vengeance - Panic! at the Disco's vibrant new album - you can travel all the way back to the AOR era, when bands like Journey, Steve Miller Band, Electric Light Orchestra, and Boston dominated the airwaves.ĭescribed by Urie in a press release as "a look back at who I was 17 years ago and who I am now with the fondness I didn't have before," the album is an examination of misspent youth in Sin City, beamed through a kaleidoscope of classic-rock references. As it turns out, a large part of OG Panic!'s appeal was Urie's vocal prowess now, those pipes are more golden than ever. Yes, the band is just Brendon Urie now, but he's more than embraced the role. And on top of that, how many of those acts go on to wield the entire 20th-century rock encyclopedia? Panic! at the Disco might be the only name remaining. How many beloved bands evolve into a solo project - and then arguably become more famous for it? Needless to say, that's a short list.