So I went in with absolutely rock bottom expectations and I came out of my first two listens way more positive than I expected. The singles I wasn’t a fan of have grown on me (VLV, MOAB and Local God) The two songs I dreaded the most I oddly enjoyed (Star Spangled Banger and God Killed Rock And Roll) When Say It Louder started I got some “Too Weird” vibes and I was so ready for the back end of the record but every song that followed was god-awful and I think Sugar Soaker might be the worst Panic song to date, his vocals here are painful.
Don’t Let The Light Go Out is the strongest on first listen. Really dig the chorus (great hook). The rest of the album...idk...not really into the theatrical stuff.
For me, it's there with Beach Bunny's album as a disappointment because it's not terrible or anything, even has a few good ideas but just never comes together in a way that's interesting.
just don’t think his vocals are strained any more in “sugar soaker” than.. pretty much any other song on this record. it’s a sweet glam rock tune i would like to give it up for the disco breakdown in “sad clown” rn
Here's my reaction to each song upon first listen. Other than the first four which I already heard. Viva Las Vengeance: This got me excited for the album. I still think it's great. Is the rest of the album really that much worse? Let's see Middle of a Breakup: Lyrical garbage in an otherwise pretty messy song Don't Let The Lights Go Out: Very much enjoy this, gives me good vibes Local God: It isn't bad but it just feels unmemorable all around Star Spangled Banger: Musical theater? I don't know what to think of this one. God Killed Rock and Roll: Trying hard (to hard?) to channel Queen on this one. It's interesting, I feel like it could grow on me Say It Louder: I dig this one, it doesn't blow me away but it's fun Sugar Soaker: The chorus reminds of me of Middle of a Breakup if it were 10x better. I like it. Something about Maggie: Chorus feels kind of messy, verses are fun though Sad Clown: I'm surprised that I seem to really like this. The verses are so fun. All By Yourself: It's okay, seems pretty forgettable. Do It To Death: This is a fun one, good way to close the album. First impression is that I don't love it, but I definitely don't hate it. Gotta get through it a few more times and see what sticks. Feels like it's a mix of good fun songs and forgettable messy songs. A lot of these songs could be really fun in concert.
Baffled that anyone thinks this is anything other than horrible and full of incredibly shallow/questionable songwriting but that’s the beauty of opinions!
Kinda? I've listened to pretty odd and some singles over the years. Decided to give this whole album a shake and welp. You know the rest. I did realize how silly that post was shortly after writing it.