Panic! at the Disco released their new album, Death of a Bachelor, on Friday January 15th. The album was written, composed, performed, and produced by Brendon Urie, the lead singer. Before Death of a Bachelor was released, fans were sceptical about the album because Panic! at the Disco has been known to make major genre shifts in the past. For example, Panic transitioned from their album Pretty Odd, released in 2008, which was inspired by 60’s pop music, to their electronic synthpop album Too Weird to Live! Too Rare to Die!, released in 2013. However, Death of a Bachelor does not bring on a major genre shift compared to their previous album Too Weird to Live! Too Rare to Die!. It presents more modernized pop sounds while including similar sounds to their old albums.

Death of a Bachelor is written about Urie’s wife, Sarah Urie, and how his lifestyle has changed since he got married in 2013.

The first single released, Hallelujah, an upbeat tune, was written about Panic’s former drummer Spencer Smith leaving the band. The song describes how Urie was hurt (“Sitting pretty in my brand new scars”) but he wanted to move on from Smith and continue to make music so he wouldn’t disappoint his fans (“No one wants you when you have no heart”).

Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time, a deep fast paced song, depicts Urie’s past lifestyle. The lyrics “I told you time and time again/ I’m not as think as you drunk I am/ And we all fell down when the sun came up/ I think we’ve had enough” talks about Brendon Urie’s experiences with partying. Panic! at the Disco uses audio samples from The B-52’s Rock Lobster throughout the song.

Urie sings the lyrics “You can set yourself on fire/ But you’re never gonna burn burn burn/ You can set yourself on fire/ But you’re never gonna learn learn learn” in Crazy=Genius to represent how Urie’s partying got in the way of his advancement in the music industry.

The theme of developing a new lifestyle is continued on through the Frank Sinatra inspired title track song Death of a Bachelor (“Lifetime of laughter/ At the expense of the death of a bachelor”), and House of Memories (“Memories turn into daydreams/ Become a taboo/ I don’t want to be afraid/ The deeper that I go/ It takes my breath away”).

Golden Days begins with a steady beat but slows down as the it transitions into the chorus. Urie sings the lyrics “Oh don’t you wonder when the light begins to fade/ And the clock just makes the colors turn to grey/ Forever younger growing older just the same/ All the memories that we make will never change” over a slow acoustic guitar with the sound of a clock ticking in the background.

The album finishes with Impossible Year, a slow and mellow song about a year that hasn’t actually happened. Urie plays the piano while singing “And the storms full of sorrow/ That won’t disappear Just typhoons and monsoons/ This impossible year” to show how he would feel if he ever divorced his wife.

Panic! at the Disco explores a variety of sounds throughout the album, transitioning from modern pop in La Devotee to Frank Sinatra sounds in Death of a Bachelor and sorrowful Impossible Year. While the album may not live up to A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, Panic’s first album released in 2005, it still contains moving lyrics and sounds.