A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (CD - 2005)

Audio Mixer: Matt Squire.

Recording information: Dang! Studios; SOMD.

Photographer: Alan Ferguson.

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out revealed the state of pop-punk/emo in 2005: it was hip to be self-aware. "Dear studio audience," Panic! at the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie quavers in "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage." "I've an announcement to make/It seems the artists these days are not who you think." He goes on to shout out, "Applause! applause!" His lyrics also say he's the narrator, but that's for debate, because later on Fever Urie hoots about meeting the press and his band being a "wet dream for the webzines," so who was actually worrying about stardom, the narrator or Panic! at the Disco? With Fever it was clear that the MySpace revolution had come full circle -- no longer just a convenient promotional tool, the site had become something to sing about. ~ Johnny Loftus

The state of pop-punk/emo in 2005: it's hip to be self-aware. "Dear studio audience," Panic! at the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie quavers in "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage." "I've an announcement to make/It seems the artists these days are not who you think." He goes on to shout out, "Applause! applause!" His lyrics also say he's the narrator, but that's for debate, because later on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Urie hoots about meeting the press and his band being a "wet dream for the webzines," so who's worrying about stardom now, the narrator or Panic! at the Disco? With Fever it's clear that the MySpace revolution has come full circle -- no longer just a convenient promotional tool, the site is now something to sing about. Writing music that webzines actually want to cover should be more important that assuming they will and then obsessing over it. But bands like Panic! at the Disco don't see that. On Fever they fill the gaps between their formulaic guitars and warbling urgency (interchangeable groups include the Academy Is... and Fall Out Boy) with painstakingly layered vocals, trumpet, vocoder, and weird breakdowns of rickety piano or synths. This is a band in love with making a record -- making a statement -- but there's nothing unique inside, neither in their formula nor the vaunted and sticky production. Panic! at the Disco's name doesn't even ring true -- the guitars, keyboards, and bittersweet vocals of the Panic Division ring close enough to cause real identity problems. ~ Johnny Loftus

Panic! At The Disco's debut album is a genre-busting blend of slick, poppy emo-influence punk, Strokes-like rock, and, well, disco. While the first two genres fit together seamlessly, a blend of all three is a risky proposition usually attempted only by experienced professionals. Nevertheless, these inspired neophytes score time and again with tracks like the glittering "Camisado," with its sparkling sequencer interlude, and the witty "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (the opaqueness of Panic!'s song titles is a large part of their charm). The band's lyrics tumble out in a rush, while their musical ideas are a complex distillation of pop's last 40 years, played with an innocence and enthusiasm as infectious as it is exhilarating. minimize