As for sound, SPINsaid that this track “volleys a sunshine pop sing-along that’s as blindingly bright as most screamo/metalcore bands are dark.” It’s also a more Sergeant Pepper’s sounding track. It’s a love song about two opposites (like the moon and sun) falling in love, told in some seriously descriptive and beautiful metaphors. Talk about a creative way to sing a love story. As for the song title, then drummer Spencer Smith came up with it during while high. “Nine in the Afternoon” was one of few tracks to re-make the cut ( Wikipedia). Interestingly, the band scrapped almost everything from take 1 of the album and started over. The opening line is a reference to that cabin (“Back to the street where we began”). Odd., the band wrote out of a cabin in Mount Charleston, NV, which they’d rented post-tour to recharge and create album #2.
Fun fact: the line, “You don’t have to worry/Because we’re still the same,” is meant to assure fans that even though an original member was replaced (bassist Brent Wilson with Jon Walker), the change isn’t a big deal. This song was apparently leaked on MySpace prior to the album’s release, misguiding fans about the sound direction of Pretty. Alternative Addiction said that “this sounds like it was recorded in the 60’s with today’s production value,” while Alternative Presscompared Pretty. Odd. is the band’s most creative and relaxed album, packing in new and different sounds. (There’s also the known fact that Panic! was high as hell during writing.) 2008 Panic! even looked like 1960s moptops! Pretty. is an amazing modern take on 1960s psychedelic rock, with a main influence of experimental-era Beatles. Rolling Stone compared duo Ross and Brendon Urie to the Beatles, saying that “Ryan Ross…takes on the role of Lennon to frontman Brendon Urie’s McCartney.” That description is spot on, and perfectly encapsulates the album’s sound. Also the last Panic! album to be recorded with 4 members, and the only one where Ryan Ross sings. The day Panic! at the Disco released Pretty. Let’s travel back nine years ago: March 25, 2008.