After a two year hiatus, Panic! are back. And now for their third album, Vices & Virtues, they've been reduced to a duo - Brendan Urie (singer and multi-instrumentalist) and Spencer Smith (drums).
But don't panic fans, their sound is by no means diminished. Where the main single (Nine in the afternoon) from their second album was very much a piece of light-hearted pop-rock, The Ballad of Mona Lisa takes a slightly heavier approach. It still bares all the hallmarks of a Panic! track, with Urie's unmistakable vocals, driving bass and drums, lyrics with inner rhymes and singing through a loudspeaker (Muse style). It does, however, lack the immediacy and quirky personality of their earlier material - the likes of We write sins, not tragedies and The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage (why such long names?!).
In short, fans will lap this up. But haters won't be converted.
The official video isn't released yet, but you can view a teaser trailer here.
3/5
