A Panic! At The Disco x 'Death Of A Bachelor' appreciation post.

To celebrate the release of Panic! At The Disco's brand new album 'Death Of A Bachelor' - out in New Zealand now! - we have compiled a list of things that we currently appreciate about the group.

But first, here's some official info about the album:
 
Produced by Jake Sinclair (Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy), DEATH OF A BACHELOR marks the first release from Panic! At The Disco in nearly two years, following 2013's acclaimed TOO WEIRD TO LIVE, TOO RARE TO DIE!. The album has already generated significant steam - current single 'Victorious' rocketed to # 1 on Billboard + Twitter's Trending 140 chart, while also trending worldwide on Tumblr and Twitter. The track is currently soundtracking postseason baseball coverage on the MLB Network and will also be featured in the trailer for 2K Sports' hugely anticipated “WWE 2K16” video game, which debuted over the weekend during WWE Network's Hell In A Cell event and then air across all WWE programming including USA Network's WWE Raw and Syfy's WWE Smackdown.
 
The first single off DOAB, 'Hallelujah,' made chart history for the band with a Top 40 debut on Billboard's “Hot 100” – Panic! At The Disco's second Top 40 hit and first since 2006's breakthrough classic, 'I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.' The album's title track premiered exclusively on Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio where Urie described 'Death of A Bachelor' as, “It's like some Beyoncé beats with some Sinatra vocals. It's really crazy… [Sinatra's] music has been a major player in the soundtrack of my life. So it's only right that I return the favor and/or pay it forward.”
 
DEATH OF A BACHELOR is the follow up album to TOO WEIRD TO LIVE, TOO RARE TO DIE! which made a top 2 debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 upon its 2013 release. The album was fueled by 'Miss Jackson (Feat. Lolo),' the song's companion video – featuring actress Katrina Bowden (30 Rock) – scored major rotation at MTV2, mtvU, FUSE, and Logo's 'NewNowNext, while earning close to 25 million views.
 
Released in 2005, Panic! At The Disco's double platinum-certified debut, A FEVER YOU CAN'T SWEAT OUT remains one of the biggest selling debuts in Fueled By Ramen history.  Singles like I Write Sins Not Tragedies,' earned the band international acclamation and a fervent fan following around the globe, also receiving a number of major honors including multiple Grammy nominations and the prestigious MTV Video Music Awards “Video of the Year” prize for the 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' video.
 
Panic! At The Disco's acclaimed second album, PRETTY. ODD. arrived in 2008, debuting at #2 on SoundScan/Billboard 200 album chart upon its initial release.  The album's popular success was matched by a wave of critical applause, with NME declaring it “a victory for artistic ambition over cynical careerism, one of the feel-good psych-pop albums of the year.” They returned three years later with VICES & VIRTUES. The album – which features, 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa' and  'Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)' – made a spectacular chart entry upon its March 2011 release, entering the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #7, while also coming in at #2 on SoundScan's “Alternative Albums” chart.
 
Furthermore, Panic! At The Disco has made high profile TV appearances, including ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, TBS' Conan, CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the nationally syndicated Ellen DeGeneres Show, Fox's New Year's Eve Live, NBC's Miss Universe 2013, and CBS' broadcast of The 36th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, in which Urie paid tribute to honoree Billy Joel with a characteristically idiosyncratic take on the classic 'Big Shot.'

Now without further ado, here are 5 things that we currently appreciate about Panic! At The Disco…

#1. They've just announced an upcoming co-headlining American tour with WEEZER. They're heading all over the US throughout June to August.

#2. KROQ spoke to Brendon Urie about the album and more after a recent performance in the Red Bull Sound Space. Watch the interview:

#3. Honouring the death of David Bowie at their show in London last week, they donated 100% of their merchandise proceeds to Cancer Research UK.

London, 100% of our proceeds from merch sales tonight will be donated to @CR_UK in honor of @DavidBowieReal. pic.twitter.com/mFbzyyDEfb

— Panic! At The Disco (@PanicAtTheDisco) January 12, 2016

In addition, they played a cover of Bowie's 'Oh! You Pretty Things' at the end of their cover of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Check out a video of it below:

#4. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Brendon spoke about how synesthesia informs his songwriting. He said: “Death of a Bachelor was a lot of bright yellows, bright reds. But it was all very Sixties, like if you've ever seen the Doors performance where there are actual doors hanging above smoke screens and the smoke is coming up. It's very Easter-ish, soft pastel colors. It's soft but bright. It's like glow-y and there are yellows and reds and dark teals that are still popping. That was very much "Death of a Bachelor," the song. It felt so right. It felt nice to have that completion to the idea.

But sometimes it's colors, sometimes it's a tornado of words and I pick one out. Sometimes it's shapes. A song could be a square and go in that perfect order. Sometimes it's a pyramid that turns into rhombus. But there are no rules and I love that. It comes from an emotional state.”

Read the full interview HERE.

#5. The music video for the title track is amazing - it shows Brendon channelling his inner Frank Sinatra (someone who hugely inspired the new record). Watch the music video below:

PANIC! AT THE DISCO's album 'Death Of A Bachelor' is out now - click HERE to purchase it via iTunes.

Watch the 'Emperor's New Clothes' music video below…