“Pray For The Wicked” was the second album cycle I got to be a part of after being a fan of Panic! at the Disco. As a result, it has a pretty high place in my heart. I still remember the excitement I felt when new music videos and content were released. Debuting June 22 of last year, it has been with me through good and bad moments.

“(F*** a) Silver Lining:” This song always brings me back to driving. Along with “Living Proof” by State Champs, “Pray for the Wicked” came out about a week after I got my license. So any driving I could do on my own, those albums were my soundtrack to it. Even when I played the album a year later, I still was brought back to my driver’s seat on my way to meet a friend to play mini-golf.

“Saturday Night (Say Amen):” Considering this was the lead single to promote the album’s release, I don’t have a specific memory directly connected to the song. I always think of it randomly, and rarely, hearing this song on my local alternative station and being super excited. Panic!, at least at the beginning of this album cycle, did not get much radio play. Hearing them at all when I didn’t specifically play a song from them was, and still is, a big deal.

“Hey Look Ma, I Made It:” Now long before this song was on the radio, and people used it for their graduations, it was one of my favorite songs from this album. I love how the start of the song still to this day, brings me to this place of someone driving down a highway on a bright sunny day, traffic is not a mess and the sun is reflecting on their sunglasses.

“High Hopes:” Like I said, at the start of this cycle Panic! was not often played on the radio. But I still remember driving home from class one night and “High Hopes” came on. I was shocked & enjoyed it the whole way home. I couldn’t believe that in the year of 2018, Panic! at the Disco was on the radio.

“Roaring 20s:” This song was one of my immediate favorites when it came out last year and so far it’s held up. Granted, that’s not surprising considering “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” is my favorite Panic! album. This song calls back to that album.

 “Dancing’s Not a Crime:” A song I don’t play often even though I should. This song can lift my mood anytime it’s on; it’s that fun. It’s a very groovy song. If this song doesn’t make your day a little bit better after hearing it, I’m not sure if anything will.

“One of the Drunks:” I feel like this is a wild card for Panic!. There’s nothing you can compare it to from the rest of their catalog. It doesn’t have a similar tempo or lyrical progression to anything else they’ve put out before. This song is underrated. Coming in at track seven it’s easy to skip over it or not give it the full attention that the first tracks got.

 “The Overpass:” This is my least played song of the whole album. However, I’m not sure why. It’s not a bad song by any means. I like that there are background singers, it gives me Broadway vibes. I also always envision a car speeding down a roadway as the song kicks in. However, it’s never a first choice to play, and I’ll probably only hear it if I’m playing the album in full or if I put the album on shuffle. I just don’t have a connection with this song like I do with some of the others.

“King of the Clouds:” This is my all-time favorite song from this album. It felt my pains when I was going through some stuff last year. I still stand by the line, “I don’t trust anything or anyone below the sun.”

“Old Fashioned:” I really love the lyrical content of this one. The phrase, “We were borderline kids with a book of disorders/ medicating every day to keep the straightness in order” grabs my attention in a good way. However, I feel like I never choose to play this song. If it comes on I’ll let it play but I don’t specifically choose it often. I’ll have to change that.

“Dying In L.A.:” I love this song and I am so sad I could not experience Brendon flying over the crowd while playing piano in real life. This song divided a lot of fans. Some love it with their entire being and some hate it and think it’s overrated. When I first heard it, I liked it. I still like it to this day. I think it sounds pretty.

This album has been there for me through the good and the bad times and it will always have a special place in my heart.