Panic at the Disco "Vices and Virtues"

You can say that they gained a new perspective, after half of the band had left to start another; once they were done touring for a record some may call Pretty. Odd., if they don't recognize it as a little homage to the fab four. The "Ballad of Mona Lisa" reminds me of a song from A Goofy Movie  by this pop artist known as Powerline; it may not be as good, but it earns points for that fact. Call it vaudevillian dance-rock if you please or despise, drum machine beats, and orchestral/choral layers cut straight from the fabric of melodrama often used to cover the senses of those in soap operas in "Let's Kill Tonight." OH MY Gosh.."You'll dance to anything," even a musical "Hurricane" full of heys shouted by those that have seem to have lost hope ( the heart of persistence), and just want to get lost in this whirlwind of dance-bass, driving hi-hat, hand claps and a little synthetic horn and guitar thrown in. My favorite verse has to be the second; mixing hilarity with desperation?                      Some "Memories" we want to remember, others we would like to forget (this song seems like a nice throwback to the 80's), and even though this couple could not remember what inspired them to live on their own: "oh memories!/ Where'd you go?/you were all I've ever known." Here it is, a dream that some live; one that can also be a nightmare that ends in several ways. To love someone that is perfect in every way, but never be able to tell them what they mean to you. This unbelievable person that you love blows your mind because they love you just as much, but you never feel that love. Instead, you feel like an anchor that is taking down his/her Titanic; he or she cannot live without you, but you just feel like you're holding him/her back, but is that a feeling you would "Trade Mistakes" for?                 "Ready To Go (Out of My Mind)" and become featured on the adaptation about those short blue guys. What do they call them?  The next song is a retrospective in belated respect and realization of a relationship once had, or not had yet. "Always" will be relatable to someone because love is blind, and sometimes it misses what truly matters because those rose colored glasses cover up the warning signs, negative traits, and blood on their hands.Often, we choose the one that we hope is the right one, usually they are not, but they help us know what we need from those mistakes.                                 The discordant notes that cue the distorted first line, are misleading because what follows on "The Calender" is something that may bring a smile on your face with its pop-rock perfection, and then there is the bluesy electronic outerlude. I bet "Sarah Smiles" when she hears the mariachi-tinged speed-pop, and the symphonic harmony that is created elsewhere. She probably not only smiles because he wrote a song about her apathy,as she tortures him with that smile, but that it was a good song written from the turmoil. It appears that Mona Lisa was "Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)," and it comes to a close. Disappointed? Less than unimpressed? Oh well, that's life I guess.           Standouts: The Ballad of Mona Lisa, Let's Kill Tonight, Memories, Always, The Calender and Sarah Smiles.