Death of a Bachelor

by Panic! At the Disco

Overview

As attention grabbing as a flashing neon sign on the Las Vegas strip, Panic! At the Disco's fifth studio album, 2016's Death of a Bachelor, is a volcano-sized martini glass of emotive, theatrical, genre-bending pop. The first album recorded by the band since the departure of drummer Spencer Smith, who officially left in 2015, Death of a Bachelor is largely the vision of lead vocalist and founding member Brendon Urie. Inspired by Urie's 2013 marriage, as well as legendary vocalist Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday in 2015, Death of a Bachelor works as a loose concept album celebrating the end of Urie's party-hearty single life, and his creative maturation from emo-pop poster boy to self-styled rock sophisticate. Produced by Urie along with Jake Sinclair (Five Seconds of Summer, Taylor Swift, P!nk), the album showcases an even more expansive sound than 2013's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, rife with touches of body-bumping hip-hop, Sinatra-esque lyricism, and anthemic, Queen-like exuberance. Indeed, Panic! At the Disco have never been anything less than grandiose and Death of a Bachelor is no exception, revealing some of the group's most ambitious and over-the-top productions. With Sinclair, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, Sam Hollander (Gym Class Heroes, Metro Station, Fitz & the Tantrums), and other collaborators at his side, Urie stuffs his songs with rambunctious, Beyonce-ready beats, laser-toned synthesizers, muscular guitars, and a peacock's array of double-tracked vocals. Thankfully, he doesn't sacrifice any of Panic!'s infectious melodicism and pop craftsmanship in the process. Cuts like the gospel-inspired "Hallelujah" and the swaggeringly cheeky "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time," self-consciously built around the B-52's "Rock Lobster" guitar riff, are as catchy as anything Panic! has ever created. Impressively, the densely if deftly packed production does little to detract from the sheer brilliance of Urie's voice on cuts like the burnished title track and wild-eyed, post-party hangover anthem "Victorious." Urie even summons his best Sinatra-style vocal warmth on the album's closer, the languid, stylishly world-weary ballad "Impossible Year." Ultimately, Death of a Bachelor marks the final transformation of Panic! At the Disco from egalitarian emo band to collaborative pop band headed with singular charisma by Urie the uncontested chairman. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2016
Label:	Atlantic / Decaydance / Fueled By Ramen Records
UPC:	0075678666735

Tracks

1. Victorious
2. Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time
3. Hallelujah
4. Emperor's New Clothes
5. Death of a Bachelor
6. Crazy=Genius
7. L.A. Devotee
8. Golden Days
9. The Good, the Bad and the Dirty
10. House of Memories
11. Impossible Year

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Panic! At the Disco   Primary Artist
Suzy Shinn   Vocals (Background)
Randy Andos   Trombone (Bass)
Jeff Kievit   Trumpet
Rob Mathes   Conductor
Aaron Heick   Sax (Alto)
Dave Mann   Sax (Tenor)
Dave Riekenberg   Sax (Baritone)
Tony Kadleck   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Brendon Urie   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Jake Sinclair   Vocals (Background)
Mike Davis   Trombone (Tenor)
Mark Stepro   Drums
Dylan Schwab   Trumpet
White Sea   Vocals (Background)
Andy Snitzer   Sax (Tenor)

Technical Credits

Nicole Guice   Creative Director,Art Direction
Suzy Shinn   Producer,Engineer
Zack Hall   Cover Photo
Evan Taubenfeld   A&R
Pete Wentz   Executive Producer
Catherine Pierson   Composer
Mike Viola   Composer
Rob Mathes   Horn Arrangements
Pete Lyman   Mastering
Robert Lamm   Composer
Michael Brauer   Mixing
Claudius Mittendorfer   Mixing
J.R. Rotem   Composer,Producer
Dan Wilson   Composer
Rivers Cuomo   Composer
Sam Hollander   Composer
Brendon Urie   Composer
Alex DeLeon   Composer
Jake Sinclair   Composer,Producer
Cynthia Wilson   Composer
Lauren Pritchard   Composer
Aron Wright   Composer
Shervin Lainez   Portrait Photography
Joe LaPorta   Mastering
Ricky Wilson   Composer
Jack Sinclair   Composer
Carl Lehmann   Composer
Frederick Schneider   Composer
Aryanna Platt   A&R
White Sea   Composer,Producer
Amir Salem   Composer
Julian Strickland   Composer
Scott Bradford   Legal Advisor
Teal Douville   Composer
Imad Royal   Producer
Jerker Hansson   Composer
Imad-Roy El-Amine   Composer
Christopher J. Baran   Composer