With the album turning fifteen this past week (March 25th), there’s some reflecting to be done on the band’s perhaps least-successful project. Although it produced the hit “Nine in the Afternoon,” none of its other tracks really received recognition like I believe they should’ve. There wasn’t a market for this kind of music within the scene that Panic had introduced themselves into.

The LP is full of strong tracks, namely “Northern Downpour,” written by guitarist Ryan Ross, a founding member who would leave the band halfway through 2009, along with bassist Jon Walker, due to creative differences. Although harsh, Panic certainly lost a massive writing talent with the departure of Ross, which makes the creative and wistful lyricism on this album that much more special.

The folk influences on this project make it feel youthful and natural—which it was, with the band’s members only graduating high school a couple of years prior—and almost make a listener wish that they had stuck with this vibe for another album or two. The reversion to simplicity is much different from their only other release at the time, which was theatrical and grand, and it most definitely put off some listeners.

Personally, I think it’s admirable that their first two albums were so unique in entirely different ways; it takes a range of talent to achieve palatability in completely different sounds.

Although this sudden shift was alienating for both fans and for the band, it was an artistic choice that allowed them to distinguish themselves in a way, and then carry on experimenting with different sorts of music. There isn’t much to say for the band’s activity in recent years, since the loss of all original members in 2013—with the exception of frontman Brendon Urie—and then of course the recent permanent breaking up of the group, except for that with the coming and going of members, there is forfeiture of respect regarding individuality that the band once held in its prime. “Pretty. Odd.” is certainly an example of that individualism.