Panic! At The Disco – Pray For The Wicked

Fueled By Ramen

Panic! At The Disco have existed in a few different forms and have covered various genres in their ever-growing career, starting off by riding the coat-tails of the legendary Fall Out Boy, helped along by bassist Pete Wentz. Now, Panic! At The Disco consists solely of Brendon Urie, a man beloved by fans for his stellar vocals, exuberant personality and relatability.

Panic!’s 2016 album Death Of A Bachelor is a personal favourite of their extensive discography, spanning over various genres in a timeless sort of way. Pray For The Wicked has a more consistent pop sound and recurring themes, both of which resemble those found in Death Of A Bachelor. I find that the first few songs hold their own, while some of the later ones come across as a bit less striking than I expected, but are undeniably still, well… Panicky.

The first song on Pray For The Wicked, “(Fuck A) Silver Lining” sets the tone for the whole album, starting out with a barely intelligible crooner-like voice introducing the song, then snaps into an upbeat pop song, scorning silver linings and discrediting positivity, mocking the apparel of fame and success. “Everything is just cherries on top” seems to mean that all in the glorified music industry is portrayed as a sort of wonderland where everything is right, but this track brings a sort of mockery of it all, pointing out discreetly that all is not is as it seems.

This becomes a recurring theme throughout several of the other songs, notably “Hey Look Ma , I Made It”, in which Brendon compares himself to a prostitute and his record label to a pimp. Not really what a mother would want. Music becomes “the deed” that is put up with more than enjoyed. The second verse targets society’s need to grasp on to anyone’s glory and profit from it, and how it makes some so fake rather than loyal, and that much of this transpires through a “honeysuckle phone”.

This song has a childish side to it as well, which accentuates the transition from childhood into adulthood where you have to figure stuff out. The whole song is addressed to the singer’s mother, and religion is invoked a few times, which was a part of Brendon’s childhood and his relationship with his parents, I believe. When Brendon says “boo hoo”, that just kinda underlines the childishness of this track, but this one definitely has grown on me.

The criticism of western society appears as well in “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”, which shows the fakeness and struggles of party life, where people don’t really know who each other are, since Brendon can’t stand being someone else anymore. Beebo also says “I pray for the wicked on the weekend”, which is of course the title of the album; so are the people in the music industry, which has been attacked by many artists, the real evil?

“High Hopes” shows that a lot of people, including Brendon, always wish to “make it” and be remembered for something, before finding out how terrible it really is, but how Brendon always had high hopes to be “that one in a million”. Again, the narrative returns to his mother recounting her advice when when he was child, her encouragement, even when he didn’t even know what he was going to be. This is an upbeat track that rings out with positivity about the future contrasts with the final song “Dying In LA”, where Brendon reflects back on small beginnings that turn into Angelino glory, where he describes being a dreamer when “the sun is in your eyes”. A kind of destiny is brought up in this track and gives a power to Los Angeles, saying that “nobody remembers your name if you’re dying in LA”; so if you do’t make it in there, you won’t anywhere. This track turns a young aspiring artist into a piece of meat being prepared and overtaken by an enslaving “them” who will bring success, but the only way to get out is by dying.

Brendon often reflects on his past and his youth throughout this album; “Old Fashioned” brings up his personal memories and experiences, lead on by the innocence and stupidity of youth, but how they were “the best of times” to be remembered over an Old Fashioned. “Roaring 20s” is similar, in that Brendon is reaching the end of his own twenties, but finds himself stuck in a world where “everyone here is a trophy”, just an opportunity to make money and reach glory — but that’s not how Brendon sees himself, so he struggles through it all. The wild, extreme parties fuelled by various substances that have featured in many of Panic! At The Disco’s songs and that keep the music industry going are still ever-present, as are their perks and downsides, and so Brendon sees himself as “One Of The Drunks” on the seventh track, where he recounts his own experience being lost in this dark world.

Pray For The Wicked is a culmination of many years of being in music and fame, and while Panic! At The Disco’s fans have seen the band reduce in numbers, their fanbase has never stopped growing as they came up through the pop punk/emo scene of the 2000s and broke into the mainstream. Only Brendon has survived the perilous journey of Panic! At The Disco, but he does it in a way that he has captured so many fans’ hearts along the way. All through Pray For The Wicked, Brendon has built an image of the evils of the music industry and its prestige, while still bringing in the never-ending and elusive “you” that many believe to be previous band members who escaped the perils of fame to a certain degree.

This album really shows what it is to be one of the beloved emo of the turn of the century who is still going, keeping their roots, but definitely edging more and more into pop and mainstream. Long-time fans may be disappointed with Pray For The Wicked and its separations from what the band once was, but newer fans can rejoice. Personally, it has grown on me bit by bit, and Beebo’s presence, personality and vocal range is something that has not gone unremarked, and is a new factor in this band’s success. Panic! At The Disco is something special, a place where oddities and outsiders can still find refuge in the “normal” world without resorting to obscurity.

-Frankie Harmonia-