Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!

by Panic! At the Disco

Overview

Picking up where they left off on the synth pop and '80s new wave direction of their 2011 album, Vices & Virtues, Panic! At the Disco return with their fourth studio album, 2013's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! Still focused around the songwriting duo of lead singer Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith, Panic! At the Disco also feature bassist Dallon Weekes, who joined as a full-time member in 2010. Ever since the original lineup of Panic! At the Disco split in half just after the release of their Beatles-influenced sophomore album, Pretty. Odd., Urie and Smith have carried the emo torch, finding new ways to keep their specific brand of high-energy, emotionally overwrought pop relevant to to whatever sound is happening in mainstream pop music. That said, clearly Panic! At the Disco have never been overly interested in pigeonholing themselves into just one genre, and their latest release does nothing to counter the band's reputation as pop mavericks. Whether it's the Thomas Dolbyisms of "Girls/Girls/Boys" or the malevolent NIN-esque pounding of "Girl That You Love," Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! never settles too deeply into just one sound. Tracks like "Nicotine" and "Collar Full" even retain much of the anthemic rock bombast of the band's early work, despite the underlying dancefloor intimations coming from the rhythm section and synthesizers. Indeed, '80s synths and dance beats are a good fit for Urie's voice, and though the band sticks closer to its roots than emo class president Fall Out Boy -- whose own delvings into synthesizer pop nearly reach levels of '90s European techno -- Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! paints an exciting picture of Panic! At the Disco's genre-bending career trajectory to come. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	10/08/2013
Label:	Fueled By Ramen Records / Atlantic / Decaydance
UPC:	0075678683640

Tracks

1. This Is Gospel
2. Miss Jackson
3. Vegas Lights
4. Girl That You Love
5. Nicotine
6. Girls/Girls/Boys
7. Casual Affair
8. Far Too Young to Die
9. Collar Full
10. The End of All Things

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Panic! At the Disco   Primary Artist
Dallon Weekes   Primary Artist
Spencer Smith   Primary Artist
Brendon Urie   Primary Artist
Julian Leaper   Conductor
Butch Walker   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Peter Lale   Viola
Rob Mathes   Strings,Conductor
David Daniels   Cello
Lolo   Featured Artist,Featured Artist
Emlyn Singleton   Violin

Technical Credits

Jim Henson   Composer
Peter Lale   Leader
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Chris Barrett   Engineer,Assistant
Pete Wentz   A&R
Butch Walker   Composer,Producer
Isobel Griffiths   String Contractor
Alex Goose   Composer
Joe Raposo   Composer
Emlyn Singleton   Leader
Brendon Urie   Composer,Group Member
Jake Sinclair   Mixing,Composer,Engineer
Jonathan Allen   Recording,String Engineer
Sam Riback   A&R
Spencer Smith   Composer,Group Member
Chris Phelps   Photography
Dallon Weekes   Composer,Group Member
Alex Kirzhner   Design,Photography,Creative Director
Amir Salem   Composer,Engineer
Todd Stopera   Assistant Engineer
Dave Daniels   Leader
Lauren Prichard   Composer
Panic! At the Disco   Creative Director,Composer
Jacob Sinclair   Composer
Rob Mathes   String Arrangements