Pretty. Odd. World Tour - Reception

Reception

Pretty. Odd. created fan confusion and received a mixed critical response, so much so that in 2011 Rolling Stone called the record one of the boldest moves in rock history. Of the original reviews, Spin generally was the most enthusiastic: "Pretty. Odd. lives up to its title because it dares to be optimistically beautiful at a time when sadness and ugliness might have won them easier credibility." Billboard also was generally positive, calling the record "15 tracks of welcomed live drum sounds, symphonies and stacked harmonies." Time called the record's songs smarter and said it provided a more exciting outcome for the band's future: "Where this band goes now is unclear, but the journey is a lot more interesting." British publication New Musical Express (NME) viewed the album in a positive light, calling it a "victory for artistic ambition over cynical careerism" and "one of the feel-good psych-pop albums of the year."

Alternative Press called Pretty. Odd. ambitious, while Blender called several songs on the record a "brush with greatness." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone agreed with the latter statement, calling the songs "often beautiful," rounding out a less-than-impressed review with "Even when it's over the top, which is basically always, Pretty. Odd. sounds cheerful." Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B grade and called it "more pretty than odd," calling it a "headphones album, a dense, largely enjoyable layer cake of ideas and instrumentation that might actually alienate its teenage fans." The A.V. Club's Aaron Burgess stated that Pretty. Odd. deserves "far more than a casual listen," praising the baroque orchestration and multilayered harmonies. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the album "a deliriously jumbled, left field delight." Paul Schrodt of the online Slant Magazine dismissed the record as generic, but commended the "exuberant delivery" of the pop hooks.

Mojo called the LP "too clinical and calculated" considering the young age of band members. Fellow British music magazine Q expressed similar sentiments: "Ultimately, you're left wishing that Panic at the Disco had more to say about their own generation, instead of mimicking that of their parents'." The Boston Globe reviewer Matthew Shaer agreed: "Pretty borrows liberally from the things that made those bands superficially interesting - the practiced eccentricity, the constant innovation - without paying tribute to the cultural and political sensibilities that made them great." The New York Times called the record "wildly elaborate" and a "brave change," but offered less kind words to summarize: "For all its craftsmanship, Pretty. Odd. comes across as mannered and overbearing, more studied than exuberant." The Village Voice called the record earnest and triumphant, but criticized the "hard to grasp" overarching narrative strand. Uncut held that the album "tried too hard to be obtuse," but praised the band's artistic evolution.