There has arguably been no popular band that has gone through as much change over the last few years as Panic! At the Disco has.

From stylistic deviations in musical style, to temporary abandonment of the exclamation mark in their name, to a mass band member exodus, the act has seen its share of hardships and struggles.

Panic! At the Disco fights sterotypes

From the time they signed on as one of the first products of the Myspace phenomenon, Panic! At the Disco has been roundly criticized for just about every aspect of their brand. The harshest critics dismissing them as nothing more than a Fall Out Boy clone band.

But 2005’s “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” was undeniably unlike Fall Out Boy’s more angsty material.

With songs like “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage” and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” the band boasted clever song craft. In 2008, it took an admittedly Beatles-esque turn with “Pretty. Odd.”

The emphasis on more harmonies and commitment to more complex sonic layering did not impact the public nearly as much as “Fever” did.

New album shows maturity

Then, 2009 saw guitarists Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker depart the band for different musical ventures, leaving vocalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith.

That proves to be enough of a band to produce a record, like “Vices & Virtues.” Panic!’s third studio offering sees a return to the power pop sound that propelled “Fever” towards double platinum sales in the U.S.

Along with this back-to-the-roots direction comes more maturity in Panic! At the Disco’s latest offering.

The lead single and first track on the album is the theatrical “The Ballad of Mona Lisa,” an infectious pop song rife with sing-along whoa-oh’s and enough pomp to rival their earlier recordings.

Songs portray a variety of feelings

But alas, like many lead singles in today’s day and age, “Mona Lisa” is not indicative of what listeners can expect on the rest of the record. “Let’s Kill Tonight” is a valiant effort, but comes across as a little strange and uninspired.

With lyrics like “may your feet serve you well and the rest be sent to Hell,” Panic! At the Disco come across as wannabes, a stigma that they should be working to get rid of.

“Hurricane” redeems the record a bit. With a pulsating beat, the tune is a dance number that could see time in clubs and on radio airwaves.

“You’ll dance to anything,” they declare bombastically on top of a contagious Euro-club bed of synth pop.

Panic! dials it down on the sentimental “Memories,” a song that ebbs with potential but doesn’t always deliver.

Urie sings “Oh memories where’d you go, you were all I’ve ever known / How I miss yesterday, and how I let it fade away, where’d you go?”

It succeeds in conjuring a sense of loss, but the listener is left wondering what exactly was lost in the process.

Nothing else strikes the listener’s fancy, with “Trade Mistakes” sounding like nothing more than a Good Charlotte song gone bad. “Always” takes us back to the “Pretty. Odd” album.

As a cute little acoustic ballad, Urie’s vocals and falsetto are exemplified by the stripped down nature of the sparse arrangement. Sounding like a Beatles outtake, this is one of the better songs on the record.

Urie and Smith break ground in album

Panic! At the Disco doesn’t disappoint on “Vices & Virtues,” but it doesn’t necessarily impress either.

One is left with a sense of lukewarm disaffection after listening to this record, though the potential remains visible and opens the way to the future.

For a first-time duo, Urie and Smith do an excellent job filling in the parts they don’t play, but there is definite room for improvement.

Here’s hoping they stick it out for another few records.