Pretty. Odd. World Tour - Music

Music

The sound of the album was described by the band as "more organic and mellower" than A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, as well as unintentionally and coincidentally similar to music of The Beatles, in both songwriting and scope. "We all like all of that, from Rubber Soul to The White Album and all of that, but even before, we were into that theatrical element of things. We didn't want to do a Sgt. Pepper's thing," explained Ross. The band never had the intention of music similar to The Beach Boys and The Beatles, according to both Ross and Walker. "It was like before we were writing these songs, we were writing things that were almost entirely orchestrated - and it kind of carried over into this stuff," continued Ross. "And I do think that half this record does sort of have that kind of 'fantastical instrumentation' thing, but we were just trying to fit the mood of each song. And in some cases, we just thought, 'We've got to have this.' " The difference in age did not take negative effect on the band, instead inspiring them to look through a more mature perspective, according to singer Brendon Urie.

Although there was no "clear vision" behind Pretty. Odd., the band knew that they “wanted to write songs differently in the sense that not all the songs sounded the same or were part of one set genre, you know, just doing something different. With this record, we listened to a bunch of different stuff, too, so that kind of helped broaden our musical taste.” Thanks to the new collaborative relationship with producer Rob Mathes, the roles within the band became blurred. Although most songs on the record are attributed to Ryan Ross, the entire band collaborated on each track, with Urie writing two tracks himself and Walker and Smith adding additional lyrics to several tracks. The Washington Post reviewed the new sound of Panic positively: "Everything is new, if old, from the baroque instrumentation (the use of a fluegelhorn), songwriting (less wordy, more obtuse) and vocal phrasing (streamlined) to the Beatlesque chord progressions, melodies, hooks and stacked vocal harmonies, which also owe a minor debt to Brian Wilson." The lyrics mingle ruined romances and neo-psychedelic aphorisms.

"Nine in the Afternoon" received positive reviews and critics noted the change in direction from the band's debut and Pretty. Odd. James Montgomery of MTV regarded the song similar to The Band's Music from Big Pink, and called final single "Northern Downpour" reminiscent of "an Abbey Road outtake". "When the Day Met the Night", the record's eighth track, was heavily praised by music publications. Spin regarded it as the centerpiece of the record, calling it "a sunshine pop sing-along that's as blindingly bright" and a stark contrast to the "embarrassing" A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Gigwise called the song "the track everyone will want to see the band play live," and noting that, "it's brass backing and glorious string-based crescendo are that of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys." National Public Radio commented that Pretty. Odd. "experimented with psychedelic pop, vaudeville and unusual instrumentation."