Death Of A Bachelor Album Review

By Sean Corbett
Death of A Bachelor is the newest album by the American pop punk and emo band named
Panic! At The Disco, released on January 15th, 2016. It is the bands fifth album, and is composed
entirely by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brendon Urie, following drummer Spencer Smiths
departure from the band and bassist Dallon Weekes exodus from the band, as he is now only a
touring member. The album is the follow up to the bands fourth album, Too Weird to Live, Too
Rare to Die! The album was quoted by Urie as a mix between Frank Sinatra and Queen and
after listening to the album in full I am inclined to agree with him. It has moved farther away
from the Emo roots of the band and is a much more of a power pop album with soul music
influences.
The first song off the album is Victorious, and is honestly my personal favorite and one
of the best songs from the album. Its very dance and electronic influenced beat dripping with
synths will definitely get you dancing. It also possesses some great lyrics like My touch is black
and poisonous, And nothing like my punch-drunk kiss and its Until we feel alright hook will
drag you in. The second song is Dont Threaten Me with a Good Time which I immediately
took a liking to due to the fact it samples the baseline from the B-52 song Rock Lobster. The
stark contrast between the lighter verses with a simple piano beat and the heavier electronic
influences is stark yet flows well. The third song is Hallelujah and you can definitely tell it has
its soul and jazz influnces here, with trumpets and a slow, funky beat. However in my opinion it
is one of the weaker tracks on the album because it still feels like a dance track, yet slower and
the fact that it follows two high energy tracks.
Emperors New Clothes follows, with a funky bassline and with some sounds and
synths youd hear more often in rap songs. It has good flow and is one of the more different
songs on the album, with its funky, somewhat rap influenced flow and is literally about an
emperor taking back his crown, and is the shortest song on the album clocking in at just 2
minutes and 38 seconds. The title track Death Of A Bachelor is the fifth track and is another
one of my favorites. You can really see why Urie described it as sounding like Frank Sinatra. It
has slow jazz and soul influences and is much slower than the other songs proceeding it. It is
very different and a joy to listen to; Lifetime of laughter, at the expense of the death of a
bachelor youll hear Urie croon on the chorus.
The sixth song is Crazy=Genius and the first thing I thought when I heard the song was
that it sounded like a show tune. It certainly does, it has the vibes and the tune that youd expect
to hear in a Broadway production, and sounds like jazz and pop youd hear in the 40s and 50s.
Following that is LA Devotee which posses a funky chorus, that is very pop and hip hop, but
isnt as fun or special as songs like Victorious or Dont Threaten Me with a Good Time. Not
the greatest or anything special but I cant deny that its not fun to listen to and I found myself
singing along.
Eighth on the album is Golden Days, the longest on the album at 4 minutes and 18
seconds. This song is the most rock influenced, with a very noticeable bassline and guitar parts.

The more pop rock and pop punk sound is a totally welcome change from the dance and jazz
influenced power pop the album has been providing. Lyrics like All the memories that we make
will never change. We'll stay drunk, we'll stay tan, let the love remain. And I swear that I'll
always paint you. Golden days, golden days are thought provoking and are certainly about
Uries wife Sarah.
Next up is The Good, the Bad, and The Dirty which is very dance and electronica
influenced, with some soul elements with a twist of rock in there. It certainly has the most
musical variety of any of the songs so far and is an upbeat and jazzy track that encompasses the
different genres the album has been exploring. The 10th track on the album is House Of
Memories, a softer pop ballad about love and fond memories. Its verses have a more soft
musical feel, with only a few instrument parts. It in all honesty it isnt that particularly interesting
though, still feeling like the same pop love song weve all heard countless times, and is certainly
the weakest song on the album. Not a bad song, but it doesnt bring anything new or particularly
interesting to the album. The albums 11th and final track is Impossible Year and is the simplest
track on the album. It is a somewhat upbeat, yet very melancholy piano ballad. As a sucker for
piano driven songs, particularly love songs, I really to a liking to the song. Driven almost entirely
by the piano and Uries strong voice, it serves as the perfect, melancholy denouement to the
album.
Overall, Death Of A Bachelor is a very different pop album, straying outside of the
comfort zone of rock and pop punk Panic! At The Disco was so used to. High points of the
Album include Victorious, Dont Threaten Me with a Good Time, Death Of A Bachelor
and The Good, the Bad, and The Dirty, with Impossible Year as an honorable mention. I give
the album an 8.5/10, with many strong songs and deviations from the normal pop formula,
Death Of A Bachelor will certainly be one of the most listened to albums of 2016.