A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

Wacky but weak debut from alt-emo-rock's darlings.

Artist: Panic at the Disco
Genre: Indie Rock Label: Decaydance Parental Advisory: No Edited Version Available: No Release Date: 09/27/2005

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this indie rock band laces their creative lyrics with some disturbing images ("Well, she's not bleeding on the ballroom floor/Just for the attention") and sexual innuendo ("Is it still me that makes you sweat?/Am I who you think about in bed?/When the lights are dim and your hands are/shaking as you're sliding off your dress?"). Other than the one mention of "f--k," the intense band is able to keep their songs profantity-free.

Families can talk about weirdness just for the sake of being weird, and if that is really the best way to make a point as an artist. Why is this band being critically celebrated?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark

Whiny and self-conscious, the songs on A FEVER YOU CAN'T SWEAT OUT are filled with non sequiturs, repetition, and awkward phrasing -- to the point that many of them are actually unpleasant to listen to. The Las Vegas-based group, heralded by critics as delivering a unique blend of melody-driven rock and dance music, seems to think so highly of itself that preciousness trumps artistic originality on almost every track.

A theatrical circus-y ambiance provides whatever excitement there is here, but it's not enough to keep things interesting. Over-processed and monotonous vocals, tedious special effects, songs that don't really work thematically or musically –- with one or two perky exceptions –- add up to a project that probably makes way more sense to the band members than anyone else.

You'll find a sprinkling of four-letter words, but mostly the lyrics are obtuse enough to not mean very much to anyone except, one gets the feeling, band members and other insiders. It's that quality of self-centered navel-gazing that is the worst part. It seems this group doesn't have much experience actually communicating musically, that they've been too busy playing with electronic studio toys to worry about how to relate to an audience.

There is a bit of talent here, mixed up with some quirky originality. What the members of Panic! At the Disco need to learn is how to combine these qualities with the kind of generosity of spirit that makes music accessible to all those folks out there who aren't cool enough to actually be in the band.

Fans of this album may also enjoy Fall Out Boy.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" talks about sex with "Is it still me that makes you sweat?/Am I who you think about in bed?/When the lights are dim and your hands are/shaking as you're sliding off your dress?"
Violence Some disturbing images: "This is the scent of dead skin on a linoleum floor/This is the scent of quarantine wings in a hospital" and "Well, she's not bleeding on the ballroom floor/Just for the attention."
Language "I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better f--k." and "And yes, but what a shame, what a shame, the/poor groom's bride is a whore."
Message
	Social Behavior Occasionally sexist and egotistical ("I've never looked better, and you can't stand it").
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco "Prescribed pills/To offset the shakes" and "Oh and the smokes in that cigarette box on the table/they just so happen to be laced with nitroglycerin."