Puberty is brutal. Voices crack, pimples erupt, hair sprouts and hormones surge. When it’s finally over, most of us try to distance ourselves from any remnants of our former childish selves. But of course there’s still plenty of growing up to do.
Las Vegas’ Panic at the Disco is emerging from the throes of a typical pubescent transition. When the band comes to the Bank of America Pavilion on Sunday in support of its recently released sophomore CD (“Pretty. Odd.”), fans will get a taste of the quartet’s newfound maturity: less theatrics, more musical focus.
Panic frontman Brendan Urie says it’s all just part of growing up.
“There’s a big age gap between the two CDs,” Urie said from a tour stop in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “We were 16 and 17 when we wrote the old songs. Now we’re in our early 20s. It’s a major difference.”
And how. Today, Panic at the Disco - which also includes guitarist Ryan Ross, drummer Spencer Smith and bassist John Walker - barely resembles its former image. The band tossed the inane exclamation point in its moniker, lost the pancake-y, vaudevillian stage makeup and shed its penchant for obtuse song titles such as “There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought of It Yet.”
But these are symptoms of a more significant metamorphosis: Panic at the Disco is no longer the punk-pop outfit that Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz signed to his Decaydance label four years ago. “Pretty. Odd.” represents a dramatic about-face with its odd but endearing hybrid of layered psychedelia and Beach Boys-inspired pop.
With a debut CD that sold more than two million copies, why change course?
“The music of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s is what we grew up listening to,” Urie said, “(it’s) the music our parents handed down to us. We’ve just recently rediscovered it. People have their own preferences, but we like more organic methods of making music. We’re not big fans of the whole digital/Auto-Tune approach, mainly because it’s just not real. We like real bands that make honest music. That influence is the biggest difference between the two CDs.”
If the heavy layering and flower-power sensibility dominating “Pretty. Odd.” doesn’t seem particularly organic or grown-up, the band’s heart is in the right place: The basic tracks were recorded live-to-tape with all four members playing simultaneously in the studio.
“I think the label understands that we’re going to do what we want,” Urie said. “All they asked us for were songs. Other than that, they let us be. The only pressure we felt about how to make this CD came from within ourselves. Getting past that stuff is key if you want to ditch all the critical focus and concentrate on what makes you happy as an artist.”
Goodbye puberty. “Pretty. Odd.” just may be Panic’s one final act of teenage rebellion.
Panic at the Disco, with the Hush Sound, Phantom Planet and Motion City Soundtrack, at the Bank of America Pavilion, Sunday at 7. Tickets: $27.50; 617-728-1600.
