CD reviews: Panic! At the Disco

In the decade since emo-cabaret extravaganza A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Panic! At the Disco has pinballed between '60s pop and moody electronica, although its latest sees the most marked change.

A solo album in all but name, Death of A Bachelor was written and recorded entirely by lead vocalist/heartthrob Brandon Urie, who boldly aims somewhere between Sinatra and Queen.

Naturally, it's delivered with style, but in spite of the odd production flourish (the jazzy inflections of Impossible Year) there's little of Urie's trademark precocious charm, as if he's performing with the safety on.

• Panic! At the Disco. Death of a Bachelor. Warner/Fuelled By Ramen.

• Two stars (out of five)

Single download: Impossible Year
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- John Hayden