Written by Julia Kender
“Pretty. Odd.” is Panic! At the Disco’s second album, and tends to fly under the radar more often than not due to the band's more recent pop success. Despite the fact that it usually falls by the wayside, we think it’s a masterpiece that should get more recognition.
Brendon Urie has gained a lot of notoriety for staying with the band for so long, especially because all of the other members who were there for this album cycle have left since. Those who were apart of the creation of “Pretty. Odd.”, besides Urie, are Ryan Ross, Jon Walker, and Spencer Smith.
What is now a teenager at 13 years-old, the birthday of “Pretty. Odd.” was this week, on March 25th. It comes to just under an hour long and is a beautiful, eclectic, psychedelic-inspired album.
The record starts out with “We’re So Starving”, which is a song apologizing for not getting more music out since it had been almost three years since the band's debut album. It’s a strong opening, starting to lay out the feel of the album.
Next up is the hit single from this album, “Nine in the Afternoon”. This song blew up and was number 44 on Rolling Stone’s ‘Top 100 songs of 2008’.
“She’s a Handsome Woman” comes after and it’s a more upbeat song. I think the placement of it after “Nine in the Afternoon” fits perfectly in the layout of the album.
The next song, “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?”, is one of the songs on this record that features guitarist, Ryan Ross’s, voice on some harmonies. This song and “Northern Downpour” are two of the standouts of this album that feature Ross singing.
The song that coins the title of the album in it with the lyrics, "things are shaping up to be pretty odd", , “That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)” is another upbeat song mixed into this more chill album. This track was another one of their singles and it’s still such a fun song to jam to.
“I Have Friends in Holy Spaces” is a shorter song sitting at just less than two minutes and leads into the next track, flowing perfectly into “Northern Downpour”, possibly my favorite song on the album. Ross’s voice mixed with Urie’s gives this song such a light feeling, but the lyrics still hit as they should; the line "melt your headaches, call it home" especially sticks out to me when I listen back.
“When the Day Met the Night” is a really strong middle-of-the-album song. It starts off slow but gradually picks up the pace, while still staying on the more mellow side, telling the story of the sun and the moon falling in love.
This next song, “Pas de Cheval”, is way more fun and upbeat than the last few songs on the album, narrated by a narcissist. “The Piano Knows Something I Don’t Know” is another one of the songs on this album that starts off very slow and then picks up, but this one isn’t as gradual as “When the Day Met the Night”, it picks up pretty fast and is brought to a whole new level with the use of trumpets.
Now we’re at “Behind the Sea”. This song is primarily Ross singing and Urie complementing his voice with harmonies, rather than the usual practice of it being the other way around. “Folkin’ Around” is one of the shortest and most out of place songs on the record, and the folk influence is obvious in the instrumental, not just in the title.
In a strange transition, “She Had the World” comes next on the album. This song is a romanticization of the woman in question, but it’s a very soft, lovely song to listen to, especially with Ross' voice taking center stage.
“From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins”, features brass instruments pretty heavily, and it works perfectly. The closing song, “Mad as Rabbits”, is a fun, upbeat way to finish the record.
Overall, while this was a controversial album and was very different from what Panic! at the Disco had previously produced and would go on to produce, I think it’s an overlooked album that has a lot of great songs on it. Be sure to give it a spin this week to wish it a happy birthday!
"Pretty. Odd.", along with the rest of Panic! at the Disco's discography is available to stream wherever you listen to music, and you can support the band by picking up some merch and following them on Twitter @PanicAtTheDisco. Feel free to share your favorite album of theirs by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
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