Track of the Moment: Northern Downpour by Panic! At the Disco

(Elliott, I’ll get you back for what you did last night…)

Steve must think I’m single-handedly trying to take down this blog. Last week it was Armor for Sleep, this week it’s Panic! At The Disco (a known enemy of FoaLiaB). But, in my articles, I want to share new and interesting music, and get the 6 people who read this to think differently about bands and different genres. It’s not just for talking about summery lo-fi indie synth rock songs (Mark and Steve, imagine a disapproving look on my face), but getting people to experience something that they might not have listened to before. But you need to trust me on this. I may not be into everything that Mark/Steve/Elliott/John are into, but I know good music. I mean, if I was so into Fall Out Boy, why I would I post about an artsy, neo-classical Austrian pianist? And let’s not talk about Steve’s post on the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and Mark’s post on mewithoutYou. 

Now that I’ve (hopefully) alleviated any fears you may have had going into this and shown my heavily Cracked-influenced style, let’s actually talk about the music. Everyone knows “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” off their first album, and the very pop-y “Nine in the Afternoon”, off their second album, and I’d understand if you’d prefer to go deaf after those two songs. But you’re not giving their second album a fair shake. What you heard with NitA was only a taste of the throwbacks that Panic! put out on Pretty. Odd.

Seemingly inspired by mid-to-late sixties Beatles, Beach Boys, and Rolling Stones, they focused on happier lyrics and melodies, as opposed to their emo-based first outing. Everything has this almost childish feel to it, in a good way. The feeling you get when you’re 8 years old playing around in the woods with your friends. They employ lots of horns, pianos, acoustic guitars, and prominent basslines, and laid some fun, sunny, abstract lyrics on top of it. If you hated the pop-punk, emo, alt-rock Panic! of yesteryear, then If you hated the pop-punk, emo, alt-rock Panic! of yesteryear, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their sophomore effort.

I chose Northern Downpour because it’s a nice, soft song with some beautiful, melancholy lyrics on top of it, and is a perfect example of how Panic has changed, and is one of my favorites on the album.

Unfortunately, they went back to the traditional Panic! At The Disco music once the group split up. Half of them stayed in Panic!, and the other half went to form The Young Veins, which put out a Who/Led Zeppelin hard rock album that was horrible, and promptly folded. But Pretty. Odd. will stand as what the group could have accomplished if they stuck together.

So please, don’t be afraid to give a band a try just because it’s in a genre you don’t like. You come here to try to discover new bands and genres because you trust our opinion (well, you’re most likely our friend on Facebook, but you still trust our musical opinion). So don’t be afraid to explore the boundaries of music, and give something new a listen.