Panic! At The Disco released their first album in two years on Oct. 8. “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!” is the follow up album to 2011’s “Vices & Virtues.”

Panic! At The Disco is known for changing their sound in nearly every album since their first, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” released in 2005.

Since then, Panic has gone from a carnival-esque alternative sound, to a carnival-esque acoustic sound, to a carnival-esque punk sound, to now, a Soft Cell meets any average Warped Tour band sound.

The album opens with an upbeat tune entitled “This Is Gospel,” which is not necessarily something you would expect from Panic, but it is not unbearable.  It is very anthem-y with lots of “oh’s,” and it might remind you of something you would hear from Fall Out Boy.

From there, the album goes downhill. It is mainly composed of lots of annoying beats and buzzes paired with Brendon Urie’s gorgeous pipes and some real instruments. For fans who were looking for a drastic change in Panic’s sound, the album is a Godsend. However, for fans who appreciated Panic more for their diverse musicality and unique sound heard in previous works, this album is a letdown.

As the album progresses, the songs get a little bit better, but not much.  “Casual Affair” is a good song, but it would be much better off without the excessive booming and buzzing. Other than that, the bulk of the album is just boring tech-y crud.

The really sad thing about this album being so musically disappointing is the fact that the lyrics are some of Panic’s best yet. Each song’s lyrics have lots of substance and passion, but the words are masked by the album’s obnoxious new sound.

Fortunately, the album ends strongly with “The End of All Things,” a beautiful and refreshingly real song filled with lots of pretty piano and vocal harmonies. As the song goes on, you even get a generous dose of strings, which was definitely a missed Panic component in the rest of the album. This song is easily the best track.

Even though most of the album was a disappointment, it was nice to hear it at least begin and end strongly. 

2/5