Panic! at the Disco

Pray For The Wicked

Urie is clearly still relishing the role of the sonic bachelor, and it shows. On ‘Pray…’, it sounds like he’s having a total blast.

‘Pray for the Wicked’ takes the kid-in-a-sweet-shop feel of ‘Death of a Bachelor’ and ratchets it up to eleven.

Admittedly, his embrace of slick pop aesthetics, Rat Pack swagger, and cheeky turns of phrase can be a bit much on first listen. But that being said, when it's backed with a strong hook and just a modicum of earnest emotion ... it's hard to deny.

Granted, his sixth effort is as bonkers and creative as ever, but it could be that less really is more.

Urie undoubtedly knows how to put on an entertaining show, but this is a production that lacks the kind of intelligibility and depth necessary for real emotional engagement.

Between horns, strings, synths, guitars and all the rest this record is definitely an attack on the senses and shows Urie's knack for constructing a radio-friendly hit, but delve below the surface and it doesn't have much to offer.

Pray for the Wicked is undeniably a modern pop record, but the lights of Broadway linger in these 11 brief songs.

A lot of the key problems I have with Panic! At the Disco’s music resurfaces here, and with the shallow approach to the music, sloppy style clashes and irritatingly generic lyrics that talk about success, following your dreams and getting drunk, it damages the final product exponentially.