Oddly enough, the first album I ever reviewed on this site was a Panic at The Disco album.

Panic at the Disco are back with their sixth studio album. Fronted and held on the shoulders of original band member Brendan Urie, Pray For The Wicked actually has a lot of personal notes from Urie regarding his time on broadway, his Mormon roots, and his now simpler life married to his wife Sarah.

Pray For The Wicked was released on June 22, 2018 with one of it’s singles making the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at #12 as a whole.

Song by Song Review

**** a Silver Lining: A song about wanting to excel at everything and wanting to get the best out of every possible situation, with the musicality of a song you may hear in a 70’s roller rink. Centered around such common phrases such as, “every cloud has a silver lining” and “cherry on top,” the former means that every difficulty or setback that causes harm also contains the potential to be positive while the latter refers to something good that follows a series of other fortunate events.

Brendon flips these idioms on their head, endless cherries and a silver lining aren’t that enticing to him. One of my favorite lyrics from the entire album is below: 

Say Amen( Saturday Night): A fun electro-pop track with a sound effect that sounds like gnashing teeth that comes a song about those who parade around in religion and use God to judge everybody. Urie was raised Mormon but wanted to write a song without making a dig at anyone who worships and praise, and prays regularly.

Hey, Look Ma! I Made It: A tongue in cheek celebratory song about finally tasting lasting success. It has a big band musicality that makes you want to dance. Urie tips his hat to his mother, and reflects on his journey to success, examining the thirst of record labels for new material and the quest to avoid people, who only want to be associated with him due to his fame.

High Hopes: My favorite song on the album for it’s overall message of seeking your dreams without hesitancy and seeing those dreams come to fruition beyond your wildest imagination. I also love the big band mixed with electopop sound to this track. This song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

High Hopes Music Video

Roaring 20’s: The musicality of this track mimics that of a speak easy in the 20s or 30s. Urie who was raised on musicals recently got a starring role in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots playing Charlie Price.

Dancing Is Not a Crime: This light-hearted song showcases the purities and youthfulness of young love, with simple things such as dancing with someone or being their boyfriend or girlfriend.

One of the Drunks: This track explores the consequences and downfalls of the party lifestyle. It discusses in a very blatant manner and it talks about how we as a society really celebrate an excess of drugs, alcohol, all this stuff, and how we don’t need to binge and go crazy on shit. Ultimately, the endless cycle of alcohol and parties is fruitless.

Overpass: Catchy big band musicality that reminisces a “Bonnie & Clyde” feel paints a track about a relationship that has been torn apart but is longed for. He proposes they meet  at “The Overpass” where they can truly be together and who they are. Musically, it contains samples of Chase by James Brown.

King of The Clouds: Styled in 6/8 time signature comes a dreamy track that explores the ideas of inter-dimensional travel & multiverses.

Old Fashioned: A nostalgic track about reminiscing being young and having time to kill, such as the teenage years and good times with booze and medication. He is envious about the wasted years with alcohol.

Dying in LA: A piano track with somber musicality describing the struggle of someone who came to LA to pursue their dreams, but ended up unsuccessful. It shows how many are captivated by the glamour & opportunities of the city when they first enter, only to be slowly broken down over time. It paints the picture of a person slowly losing hope and becoming who they promised they would never be in the city of (broken) dreams.