Critical Reception
"Propane Nightmares" has received mixed reviews from music critics, mostly as a result of the change in style compared to older tracks produced by Pendulum. Some reviewers praised the new direction that the band had taken, for example Gerard McGarry wrote, in an article for Unreality Music, that Pendulum "have created an epic song that - for our money - fuses their penchant for dance and rock music beautifully". Jo-Ann Greene of Allmusic described the song as "another sizzling single" in her review of In Silico, while Fiona McGlynn wrote that "...Propane Nightmares is a fresh take on a merge of genres that actually works", in her single review for the Manchester Evening News. It was also named 38th in Q Magazine's Q50 of April 2008.
The track also received some criticism, mostly derived from Pendulum's migration from drum and bass to a more rock-imbued sound. In his review for AngryApe, Tim Johnson pointed out that "the problem... lies in Pendulum trying to cram too much into one space... almost like two or three different songs being played on top of one another". Simon Catling went further, writing an open letter in the webzine God Is in the TV to Pendulum asking them to "decide whether wish to be a band or a drum n’ bass act" and commenting that "at the moment all providing us with is a horribly half-baked and shoddy form of neither".
On 22 July 2008, it was announced that "Propane Nightmares" had been nominated for Best Single at the Kerrang! Awards 2008 ceremony, alongside singles from four other rock bands. The ceremony was held on 21 August, and Pendulum lost to 30 Seconds to Mars who took Best Single with their song "From Yesterday".
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