JUKEBOX: "This Is Gospel" by Panic! At The Disco

Panic! At The Disco as of 2009: drummer Spencer Smith, vocalist/guitarist Brendon Urie

Hey guys, Lia here with a favorite of mine, Panic! At The Disco.

I realized that I haven't reviewed any Panic! songs yet! How can that be, they're one of my all time favorites! Sorry if you were expecting a more recent song, but I have to review a song from this band at least once.

Panic! At The Disco is a band near and dear to my childhood. They are from Las Vegas and formed in 2004 where it began with Ryan Ross and his guitar, joined by drummer Spencer Smith, bassist Brent Wilson, and vocalist Brendon Urie. Although, in 2006, Brent was replaced by Jon Walker. Their story is pretty incredible. The band got signed under Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance Records, before they even performed a show. Ryan and Brendon had been writing some songs and, on a whim, sent them to Wentz's Livejournal (whoa nostalgia). Pete was in Los Angeles at the time recording From Under the Cork Tree with the rest of Fall Out Boy and drove down to Las Vegas where he met the boys and promptly signed them on to Decaydance, which is an imprint label of Fueled by Ramen. If you don't know Fueled by Ramen then you need to see this.

I'm sure everyone has heard "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" the most famous song from their first album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (which is my favorite album!). This entire album is basically a homage to Chuck Palahniuk's books, who is my favorite author (Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and many, many more). Of their second album, you might have heard of "Nine In The Afternoon". Sadly, the subsequent albums were made with only Brendon and Spencer because Ryan and Jon left the band due to "creative differences" (a.k.a. drama between band members). Brendon and Spencer have released two albums after the split as Panic! At The Disco--Vices & Virtues and Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!. Although I do like the music post-split, I miss Ryan's influence. He was/is the best lyricist in the band and definitely one of my favorite songwriters. But, as they say, the show must go on!

"This Is Gospel" is one of my favorites from TWTLTRTD!. It's about Spencer's addiction problems and Brendon's worry for Spencer and the future of the band. Brendon wasn't sure if the band would make it if Spencer still had those demons to fight. During their tour for this album, Spencer was in rehab trying to get clean, so Brendon's worries were legitimate. Musically, this song and the rest of the album reiterates the sound they are trying to return to: theatrical pop-alternative music. The band has definitely matured in terms of sound from their beginnings, but this song (and this album) is missing that lyrical magic Ryan used to bring to the band. Although with "This Is Gospel," Brendon was able to capture a bit of that magic by being authentic to his feelings, it still is missing something.

Don't get me wrong, this is such a great song, full of lyrical hyperbole, gritty imagery, and polished pop-rock composition. It's totally worth checking out (along with the rest of the album!).