PANIC! AT THE DISCO
"Pray for the Wicked"
Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie has never lacked ideas.
However, starring in "Kinky Boots" on Broadway in 2017 seemed to have pushed him to new heights on Panic's sixth album, "Pray for the Wicked" (Fueled by Ramen / DCD2).
It's not just his singing _ which often climbs to new, more theatrical heights across the album's 12 tracks, including one stellar note in the first single "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" _ that has developed. It's Urie's whole approach to how much he can pack into a song. (Let's not forget this is a guy who put songs like "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" on the band's debut.)
He drops mentions of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" as he deals with social awkwardness at a rooftop party in "Roaring 20s." "Oscars and Emmys and Grammys, everyone here is a trophy," he sings, over an intoxicating mix of Latin dance rhythms and big-band orchestrations. "Maybe I'll elevate. Maybe I'm second-rate, so unaware of my status."
Urie tries to reconcile his Mormon upbringing with his pop-star pursuits without judging either side in both the dramatic lead single"Say Amen (Saturday Night)" and the charmingly upbeat "Dancing's Not a Crime," where he hits Michael Jackson-esque notes from the "Dancing Machine" era. In "Old Fashioned," he combines Imagine Dragons' cadences in his delivery with trap rhythms and horn flourishes to pay tribute to his formative years, singing, "Remember your youth in all that you do, the plank and the passion."
The album's closer, "Dying in L.A.," may have the most Broadway influence, as a piano-driven ballad with plaintive vocal runs that could fit in "Dear Evan Hansen." But it also shows Urie has learned how to find the right musical combination to suit his messages best.
DAWES
"Passwords"
Just because Dawes' plan for its sixth album, "Passwords" (HUB), is simple doesn't make accomplishing it easy.
The Los Angeles band is steeped in the sound of '70s California _ of the Eagles and Neil Young _ but the lyrics and singer Taylor Goldsmith's delivery is completely modern. It's a juxtaposition that makes Dawes far more interesting than just another retro act, but the lofty ambitions sometimes raise the stakes above their reach.
The idea of opening with a song called "Living in the Future" that so clearly calls to mind Crazy Horse's past is bold, but then dropping in current references to Colin Kaepernick's protests and the state of paranoia that comes with online life is nothing short of brilliant. It becomes more than an homage to the era. It transforms that specific sound into something timeless.
Dawes does it again on "Feed the Fire," which may sound as soothing as America's "You Can Do Magic," but actually harbors darker feelings about achieving celebrity status.
But even when Dawes reaches for something it can't quite deliver, like the epic plea for empathy "Crack the Case," the band impresses you with the attempt.
