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Pretty.Odd.
EMAILPRINTby Panic At The Disco
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 114 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Release Date: 25 March 2008
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative, Pop
Summary
The follow-up to their platinum debut album finds the band dropping the exclamation point from their name.
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Spin
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. [Apr 2008, p.92]
Read Full Review >Billboard
15 tracks of welcomed live drum sounds, symphonies and stacked harmonies.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
It may not be an album to die for, but it is a rare album of note, as much for its context as its content.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Pretty.Odd. often tries way too hard to be obtuse, it's true, but you have to admire the band's willingness to grow. [May 2008, p.106
New Musical Express
Pretty. Odd. is a victory for artistic ambition over cynical careerism, and we should all rejoice in their decision to follow their instincts as opposed to their instructions and actually do something different.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Even when it's over the top, which is basically always, Pretty. Odd. sounds cheerful, with a broad sense of humor that does honor to the noble legacy of ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
There may be a deep coat of irony smeared about here, but in the end, Pretty. Odd. is exactly what it says it is.
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
This is a remarkably solid album that stands as one of the best album made by a pop-punk band this decade, although this music can hardly be considered 'pop-punk' anymore.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe
What Ross didn't say was Pretty borrows liberally from the things that made [the Beatles and the Who] superficially interesting--the practiced eccentricity, the constant innovation--without paying tribute to the cultural and political sensibilities that made them great.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
The fact remains, even if this batch of songs is a little clumsy and without nuance at times, most are memorable and enjoyable.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
Pretty.Odd can be summed up in one word: ambitious. [Apr 2008, p.147]
Blender
Panic's cherry-picking yields several good songs, and a few brush up against greatness. [Apr 2008, p.76]
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
But the album's majority--all baroque orchestration (the horn- and string-rich 'The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know') and multilayered, Sgt. Pepper-esque psychedelia (the lovely 'She's A Handsome Woman')--demands far more than a casual listen. The question is, are the masses who initially embraced Panic At The Disco committed enough to give it one?
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
Every song on Pretty. Odd. is played and sung with the exuberant delivery of Rent on Broadway. But when the hooks are this good, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Read Full Review >The New York Times
For all its craftsmanship, Pretty. Odd. comes across as mannered and overbearing, more studied than exuberant, the magnum opus of a talented band charging wholeheartedly down a blind alley.
Read Full Review >NOW Magazine
For the most part, this album would sound completely at home on classic rock radio.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
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'. [May 2008, p.134]
Mojo
Frontman Brendan Urie has a knack for jaunty pop but Pretty Odd is too clinical and calculated for one so young. [May 2008, p.102]
Hot Press
Sgt Emo’s Lonely Hearts Club Band delivers a less than thrilling album.
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
More often than not (and this is the kicker, ladies and gentlemen), Pretty. Odd. is just pretty dull.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 114 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
waleed a gave it a0:
Terrible terrible terrible, i absolutely loved their first album, there isnt a single song i like on this one. its not even worthy to take up space on my computer or in my cd case. they were so unique and like nothing ive ever heard b4. guess they were a one album wonder
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
This is one of the best CDs I've heard in a while. It matches its title, Pretty. Odd., but that's why I love it. Originally Panic at The Disco was a good band, but now they are great for daring to change their sound. I'm glad they're not like every other band around now who uses meaningless lyrics about sex and partying and repetetive choruses that make your head want to explode. I award Panic at the Disco for being revolutionary in a time of boring music.
amber r gave it a0:
Ryan Ross ruins everything.
Demosthenes gave it an8:
By no account is this album revolutionary per say, nor is it groundbreaking; the real accomplishment is that they denied fame by taking a risk, and flirting with a past era of music. Inspiration from The Band, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and occasionally Oasis on the harder tracks, shines right through. In a world where depressingly serious music dominates the airwaves, it's refreshing to see a young band trying to have a laugh.
Sophie gave it an8:
This is nothing like their old stuff i found that i could sing along to every word of every song on the last album, but apart from a few very catchy songs theres nothing outstanding. However, I still love P!ATD so therefore i love the album.
ivan m gave it a2:
Gosh, when i heard panics first album i thought they are great.their funny songs and dancing beat,their unique style and circus performances were great!and now...what to say?i hope next album will be better.
Kyle J gave it a10:
Probably the best new music I've heard in a long while. It's excellent that they're exploring other genres and adding variety to their repertoire. They may lose some of the "emo" crowd with music that's more uplifting... but in the words of the band in an NME interview, "Emo is bull__. We want to be the new Radiohead." They're definitely separating themselves from the crowd.
