Vices & Virtues
| Panic! at the Disco
Vices & Virtues
Vices & Virtues is the third studio album by American rock band Panic! at the Disco, released on March 18, 2011 on Fueled by Ramen. Produced by John Feldmann and Butch Walker, the album was recorded as a duo by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith, following the departure of lead guitarist, backing vocalist and primary lyricist Ryan Ross and bassist/backing vocalist Jon Walker in July 2009.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
Panic! At the Disco have invented a new genre: emo retropop. Vices & Virtues is the band’s first album since becoming a duo (singer Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith), and it’s the closest emo has come to the sound of old-school pop and rock, with Beach Boys harmonies and even gypsy-style swing flavoring the usual hopped-up confessions.
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BBC Review
From the opening chimes of The Ballad of Mona Lisa to the a-ha-tinged strings of Memories, Vices & Virtues is a breath-taking voyage, which ends in the brilliantly bonkers baroque stomp of Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...).
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ALTPRESS
Yet even though Urie and Smith have for all intents and purposes dropped the paisley vests and faux British accents and returned to their classic sound, Vices & Virtues feels sincere, not simply an attempt to reclaim listeners turned off by their last release.
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GARAGE MUSIC NEWS
Five years ago, in March of 2011, Panic! At The Disco released their third full-length album, Vices & Virtues. The album was released on Fueled By Ramen at a bleak time for the Las Vegas band after they had lost half of their members, one being their main lyricist, in 2009. Vices & Virtues is a pivotal album in the history of Panic! At The Disco. . . .
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IGN
Shrinking from a quintet to a duo, and largely toning down the quirky theatrical vibe of the music, the revised Panic! At The Disco feel like a straightforward pop-punk band on their third studio album.
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Sputnik Music
Panic puts the exclamation point on their triumphant return from 2008's disappointing album "Pretty. Odd."
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SLANT MAGAZINE
But if you were expecting some kind of creative transformation from the shakeup, this new album may be something of a disappointment, as Urie and drummer Spencer Smith return to the skittish, bombastic pop-rock of their debut.
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The Guardian
Now a duo, vocalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith – with exclamation mark carefully restored – seem to be picking up where the debut left off, with a commercial emo sound and high-gloss production.
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POP MATTERS
Out goes the acid lickin' Fab Four navel gazing -- Vices and Virtues is "Pop Rocky Supreme" without an ounce of fat and praise the Lord for simple pleasures, is simply a heartwarming, joyful comeback.
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THE EDGE
Although, Vices and Virtues may not necessarily gain Panic! at the Disco many new fans, it will certainly win back those who were disappointed with Pretty. Odd, as there is still a theatrical feel but with a more grown-up vibe.
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DROWNED IN SOUND
This is not, as one might have expected, the sound of a post-Ryan Ross band floundering, directionless. Instead, it is the sound of a band venturing down a number of relative dead ends; the sound of songwriters mining seams less rich than those they had previously explored.
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music OMH
Vices & Virtues a brilliant album.
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Entertainment
Down two members — but up one exclamation point — Panic! at the Disco return to the surging electro-emo sound that first made them Hot Topic heartthrobs on Vices & Virtues.
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ALL MUSIC
Often, the individual pieces of this patchwork pop are more captivating than the overall image, yet there’s still an undeniable appeal to Urie and Smith’s crazed earnest energy; they may not know where they’re going but they know all the different routes to get there.
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SPIN
Vices & Virtues’ saving grace, though, is the varied instrumentation — marimbas, xylophones, accordion, synths, digital atmospherics — which brings stronger footing to Pretty. Odd.‘s go-for-baroque Beatlemania.
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American Songwriter
Vices & Virtues is a multi-faceted piece of work that is Panic! at the Disco’s most thematically cohesive and polished collection of uniquely eccentric, but meticulously crafted songs to date.
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NO RIPCORD
Vices & Virtues bucks that somewhat healthy trend in entirely the wrong manner, and represents exactly the kind of the uninspired drudgery of Americana indie rock that has emerged in the wake of the likes of My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy.
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ROCK SOUND
Above all, ‘Vices & Virtues’ is a complete package that secures Panic! At The Disco as one of the most forward thinking pop-rock acts around.
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The Truth About Music
Vices & Virtues hasn’t lost any of the flair from the first two Panic at the Disco albums in spite of losing two original members.
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MIND EQUALS BLOWN
Vices & Virtues is the record we needed from the duo; Honest and rejuvenated with a invigorating, yet unsure demeanor.
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MUSIC FEEDS
This album is better than what I thought it would be. As a fan of Fever.., I was disappointed in Pretty.Odd and when half the band left I was sure that the group would fall into mediocrity. I’m pleased to say they haven’t and without saying this is a return to form, it is a step in the right direction.
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The Escapist Magazine
A solid album that falls short on a few key issues, but really excels on others.
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY
It’s a pleasant surprise, then, that Panic’s first album as a duo, Vices & Virtues, is a delightful listen. A seamless combination of the carnivalesque flamboyance of 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and the ambitious popscapes of 2008’s Pretty. Odd., the collection is both mature and whimsical.
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WRECKED REVIEWS
Overall, it’s an extremely average album, which is too bad because this band started out their career any way but average.
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BLINDED BY SOUND
Panic! is down to two members but back to its unimpressive, boring basics.
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MELODIC NET
Las Vegas,Nevada-based Panic! at the Disco is now a duo since Ryan Ross and Jon Walker chose to test their own wings. Smart or not is questionable since they left one of the most talented bands on this side of 2000's. These defections do not seem to have affected the remaining songwriter very much as "vices & Virtues" is further proof of the band's greatness.
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The AU Review
The album ends with "Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)", a very Danny Elfman-esque tune with bizarre, gloriously creepy sound effects and far more interesting elements than the rest of the album combined. Had they followed this lead, Vices and Virtues might have been a far more exciting album
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Music Buff
As a whole, “Vices & Virtues” has the potential to entrance listeners with a new hybrid sound. The album leaves virtues behind and let Panic create a whole new vice for old and new fans alike.
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LAS VEGAS SUN
In the end, this feels like the album Fall Out Boy always wanted to make but never quite created. You might say that with Virtues, the student has surpassed the master.
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Mibba
With their previous work being compared to greats like The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, there was a lot of hype surrounding Vices & Virtues. However, this album was deeply disappointing in every aspect.
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Movie Punk
This is the best Panic! album to date. While their best song is probably “New Perspective”, this is their most cohesive and fun effort.
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