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More often than not (and this is the kicker, ladies and gentlemen), Pretty. Odd. is just pretty dull.
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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.
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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]
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Alternative PressPretty.Odd can be summed up in one word: ambitious. [Apr 2008, p.147]
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An admirably ambitious musical bonanza. [28 Mar 2008, p.64]
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Panic's cherry-picking yields several good songs, and a few brush up against greatness. [Apr 2008, p.76]
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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.
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15 tracks of welcomed live drum sounds, symphonies and stacked harmonies.
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This is a deliriously jumbled, left-field delight.
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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?
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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.
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There may be a deep coat of irony smeared about here, but in the end, Pretty. Odd. is exactly what it says it is.
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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.
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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.
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For the most part, this album would sound completely at home on classic rock radio.
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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.
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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.
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The fact remains, even if this batch of songs is a little clumsy and without nuance at times, most are memorable and enjoyable.
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UncutPretty.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
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Sgt Emo’s Lonely Hearts Club Band delivers a less than thrilling album.
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Q MagazineUltimately, 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]
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MojoFrontman Brendan Urie has a knack for jaunty pop but Pretty Odd is too clinical and calculated for one so young. [May 2008, p.102]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 193 out of 261
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Mixed: 24 out of 261
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Negative: 44 out of 261
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Sep 13, 2010
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AdamN.Apr 15, 2008
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Jun 21, 2022I love this album so much. Panic! At The Disco is super talented! Brendon Urie is so good!