Panic! At the Disco Creates New Spin on a Classic Sound With ‘Death Of A Bachelor’

Jordan Bailey

Panic! At the Disco is an opportunistic band, or more to the point, lead singer and founding member Brendon Urie is the opportunistic one. Back in the early 2000s, Panic! came barging onto the ever-popular emo-rock scene with their debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” (an album which eventually went double platinum). Fast forward to today and find Urie once again jumping at the opportunity to create a sound indicative of the times. Though this time around, Urie finds himself at the helm with brand new faces and a new lifestyle to boot.

“Death Of A Bachelor” is the latest release from Panic! At the Disco and one that unapologetically delves into the band that once was. Urie takes listeners on a trip through various exhibits of early 2000s era Panic!: parties, debauchery, drugs and the like. In classic Panic! At the Disco style, “Death Of A Bachelor” provides long-time fans with those hyper-badass lines they’ve come to expect like “Champagne, cocaine, gasoline/and most things in between” in “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time” or “If crazy equals genius/then I’m a fucking arsonist” in the aptly titled “Crazy=Genius.” Urie has said that “Death Of A Bachelor” is meant to, in a way, pay homage to the good ol’ days when Panic! was living their collective lives of revelry, and of course, bachelorhood. The video for “Emperor’s New Clothes” shows Urie as a demonic figure belting lyrics like “If it feels good, tastes good, it must be mine/Heroes always get remembered but you know legends never die” this alongside a chorus of skeletons. Urie isn’t beating around the bush with this album. He’s adamant about “taking back the crown” of this band after a seemingly endless revolving door of bandmates. “Death Of A Bachelor” provides Urie with an unimpeded chance to explore his personal thoughts on life with Panic!, and subsequently, his current life outside the band. It’s no doubt a highly individualistic album.

Title track “Death Of A Bachelor” stands out on the album. Urie almost croons his way through an overall smooth song of boom-snaps and Sinatra-esque lyrics. He questions how he’ll manage his new lifestyle of monogamy, while letting go of his long-held beliefs of un-attachment. This track provides the overarching theme of the entire album, one of fond nostalgia yet all the while looking to the future with idealism.  

Lyrics aside, Urie incorporates just about every genre into this album, obscure or not. From hip-hop to swing, from ballads to electronic, “Death Of A Bachelor” not only explores the intricacies of Urie’s current mindset, but also of the music scene itself. He’s managed to create a sound with “Death Of A Bachelor” that’ll surely be appreciated by Panic! fans, from both then and now.

“Death Of A Bachelor” is available for download via Apple Music on Jan. 15.