A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

The band was formed in 2004, as a spin-off of Pet Salamander and The Summer League, in the suburban area of Summerlin, Las Vegas, by childhood friends Ryan Ross on guitar and Spencer Smith on drums. Both teens attended Bishop Gorman High School and they began playing music together in ninth grade. They invited their friend Brent Wilson from nearby Palo Verde High School to join on bass guitar, and Wilson invited his classmate Brendon Urie to try out on guitar.^[3] They soon began rehearsing in Smith's grandmother's living room.^[4] Urie grew up in a Mormon family in Las Vegas and early on skipped rehearsals to go to church.^[5] Ross initially was the lead vocalist for the group, but on hearing Urie singing backing vocals during an early rehearsal, they unanimously decided to move him to lead.^[6]

The monotonous nature of local Las Vegas bands influenced them to be different and creative, and they soon began recording experimental demos. Ross and Urie soon began to record on their laptops the demos they had been developing and posted three early demos, which were "It's Time to Dance 'Cause Boys Will Be Boys" (which would later become Time To Dance), "Nails for Breakfast and Tacks for Snacks" (which would later be Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks) and "Relax Relapse" (which would later become Camisado) on PureVolume.^[3] On a whim, they sent a link to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz via Ross' LiveJournal account, and around this time they had changed the name of the band to Panic at the Disco. Wentz, who was in Los Angeles at the time with the rest of Fall Out Boy working on their first major-label album, From Under the Cork Tree, drove to Las Vegas to meet the band.^[7] On hearing "two to three" songs during band practice, Wentz was impressed and immediately wanted the band to sign to his Fueled by Ramen imprint label Decaydance Records, which made them the first on the new label, which the group did around December 2004. Around this time they had put an exclamation point at the end of Panic as a joke, and as they said in an interview years later, it stuck with them and became the official name of the band.^[6]

At the time of their signing, all of the band members were still in high school, with the exception of Ross, who was forced to leave the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.^[3]

After completing high school, the group members boarded a van and drove from Las Vegas to College Park, Maryland to record the album.^[8] Fueled by Ramen wanted the band to enter the studio earlier in the year, but Ross was attending college at UNLV and the others were still in high school. Urie graduated in May 2005 and the band pushed recording back to June; Smith and Wilson completed school online during production.^[3] They picked producer Matt Squire based on his production on several independent albums the group liked. The label had hoped they would pick Mike Green, who had worked with Paramore on All We Know Is Falling. "I think Crush Management and Fueled by Ramen were like, 'Who is this dude?'" said Squire.^[9]

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was created in only "three and a half weeks"—including mixing and mastering—on a budget of $11,000.^[9] The group entered the studio with half of the songs completed; the others were crafted in pre-production.^[6] Recording was stressful. "We were in the studio for 14 hours a day for five weeks; we might have started losing our minds a little bit," Ross recalled humorously in a 2006 interview.^[10] The band lived in a one-bedroom basement studio apartment during the production, with all sleeping in bunk beds. "Everyone got on everybody's nerves," said Ross. "Someone would write a new part for a song and someone else would say they didn't like it just because you ate their cereal that morning."^[10] Urie's voice was blown after tracking the album. Squire remembered that most of the album's choruses and high harmonies were recorded in one session.^[9] By the end of production, the band hadn't had a day off and were exhausted. After its completion, "We had two weeks to come home and learn how to be a band," Ross said.^[3]

In the fallout of Wilson's firing from the band in May 2006 due to "lack of responsibility" and "not progressing musically with the band", the remaining members also alleged that Wilson did not participate in the writing and recording of the album, with Urie and Ross writing bass parts that were simplified so that Wilson could play them live, and Urie recording them in the studio.^[11] Wilson denied their statement, insisting that he was present in the studio every day, participating in writing, and teaching Urie how to play certain parts. He also sued the band for 25% of royalties from the album's sales, as stipulated in the original contract.^[12]

The album's sound has been described as incorporating elements of pop-punk,^[13][14] emo,^[15][16][17] alternative rock,^[16][18] emo pop,^[19] baroque pop,^[20] electronica,^[13] dance-punk,^[21] and doo-wop.^[13] The album is split in two stylistically, with the first half of the record being primarily pop-punk, while additionally incorporating electronic instruments such as synthesizers and drum machines. The second half is more baroque pop-influenced, employing traditional instruments such as the accordion and organ. They are separated by an intermission as a link between the two halves, beginning with techno-style dance beats before switching to a piano interlude. Squire recalled that the band had an "identity crisis" upon writing new songs. The more dance-infused tracks were crafted during the group's time in Vegas, but the band members found themselves writing more straightforward rock tracks when they entered the studio. The band did not want to include the rock songs, but Squire convinced them to agree to it one day over lunch. "I took them out to lunch and said, "Why don't we tell the story of that creative evolution as the theme of the album?'", he later recalled.^[9]

"London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines"

"London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines" takes a preliminary aim at webzines' criticism.^[9]

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The ambitious quality of the album's content was representative of the band's desire to "do whatever we wanted," according to Urie.^[22] Urie specifically cited the Beatles, Queen, the Smiths, Name Taken, and the Keane song "Everybody's Changing" as influences on the album. He remarked, "We took all of those biggest influences, listening to them from our parents and mashed them together."^[22]

The album's lyrics were penned almost solely by Ross, and they were strongly influenced by author Chuck Palahniuk's work, whom Ross greatly admired. The song title "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" is a quote from Palahniuk's book Survivor. "Time to Dance" tells the story of Invisible Monsters, and includes quotes such as "Give me envy, give me malice, give me your attention". Other references and quotes can be found throughout the album, such as "Just for the record, the weather today is..." (Diary). Wentz served as an advisor to the group on lyrical content: "he was always there to help out with a line here, a line there," said Urie. Urie also helped write a few lyrics, including on "Lying Is the Most Fun..." and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies".^[23][24] The group noticed that bands in the pop-punk scene, such as Fall Out Boy and Name Taken, were using long song titles. The band decided to take this a step further, creating increasingly long titles partially as an inside joke.^[9] The song "I Constantly Thank God for Esteban" was a reference to an infomercial for Esteban Guitars the group found humorous.^[9]

The album's lead single, "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage", was released on September 27, 2005, the same day as the album.^[25][26] The song was a success for the band at the time, peaking at number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100^[27] and number 5 on the Alternative Airplay charts,^[27] being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[28] The second single from the album, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", was released on the 16th of January, 2006, and fared much more successful, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and making it onto the charts of 9 other countries, including its highest position at number 2 on the US Pop Airplay charts,^[27] being certified diamond by the RIAA, 4× platinum by Music Canada (MC),^[29] and 2× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)^[30] and Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).^[31]

The third single, "But It's Better If You Do" was released on May 1, 2006, and was less successful than "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", although it did make the charts in five countries, peaking at its highest position, number 4, on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts^[27] and being certified platinum by the RIAA. The fourth single, "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" was released on the 7th of August, 2006, and achieved similar success to "But It's Better If You Do", making the charts in four countries (its highest position being number 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts, the same position as "But It's Better If You Do") and was certified platinum by the RIAA and silver by the BPI. The fifth and final single, "Build God, Then We'll Talk" was released on the 26th of March, 2007. Although the song did not chart, the song was certified gold by the RIAA and the RMNZ. Three other songs from the album, "Camisado", "Time to Dance", and "There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet" were also certified gold by the RIAA, despite not being released as singles.

Sales of the album began relatively slow. It debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200 album chart and later peaked at number 13, spending 88 weeks on the chart in total. The album has sold over two million copies in the United States, receiving a double platinum certification from the RIAA,^[32] before receiving a quadruple platinum certification in June 2023.^[33] In Australia, the album peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Charts,^[34] alongside certifying platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association itself.^[35] In Austria, the album peaked at number 37 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40.^[36] In Belgium, the album peaked at number 43 on the Ultratop charts.^[37]

In Canada, although the album did not chart, it was certified platinum by Music Canada (MC).^[29] In Germany, the album peaked at number 98 on the GfK Entertainment charts,^[38] its lowest chart entry. In the Netherlands, the album peaked at number 41 on the Dutch Charts.^[39] In New Zealand, the album peaked at number 7 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts,^[40] its highest peak on any chart the album entered. The album was also certified platinum by Recorded Music NZ,^[41] In Switzerland, the album peaked at number 63 on the Swiss Hitparade.^[41] In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number 17 on the Official Albums Chart^[42] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI),^[43] specifically selling 402,983 copies.^[44] By June 2011, the album had sold over 1.8 million copies in the US.^[45]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[46]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[47]
Entertainment Weekly	B[48]
Mojo	[49]
MusicOMH	[50]
Pitchfork	1.5/10[51]
PopMatters	4/10[52]
Rolling Stone	[53]
The Skinny	[54]
Stylus Magazine	D[55]

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A Fever You Can't Sweat Out divided music critics at the time of its release. Billboard, ten years after its release, deemed it "one of the most polarizing albums of our time".^[9] Cory D. Byrom of Pitchfork criticized the state of contemporary emo and bemoaned the album's apparent lack of "sincerity, creativity, or originality".^[51] Johnny Loftus of AllMusic was similarly negative, writing, "This is a band in love with making a record — making a statement — but there's nothing unique inside, neither in their formula nor the vaunted and sticky production."^[46] Lauren Gitlin of Rolling Stone complimented the album's sound, commenting, "What makes Panic different (and excellent) is their use of dance-floor synths and roboto drums, which redeems the album's whininess."^[53] Kerrang! was positive, awarding the record four out of five stars.^[56] Rolling Stone also gave a positive review, with three and a half stars out of five.^[53] Webzines like Gigwise and Sputnikmusic also gave positive reviews.^[57][58]

The hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" received massive airplay and Panic! at the Disco won "Video of the Year" on the annual MTV Video Music Awards in 2006, beating fellow nominees Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers. In September 2011, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" won MTV's Best Music Video of the 2000s.^[59]

On November 14, 2006, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was re-released as a Limited Edition Collectible Deluxe Box, packaged in a cigar box-shaped box set. The box set was limited to 25,000 copies. It included the original album on CD, a live concert titled Live in Denver on DVD, tarot cards for each song with lyrics printed on individual cards, 2006 tour program, poster of the band, live photo shots, a phenakistoscope, circus-styled mask, fake newspaper article and a blank notebook. The Live in Denver DVD was filmed in Denver on July 22, 2006.^[63]

On October 20, 2025, it was announced that Panic! at the Disco would be releasing a 20th anniversary deluxe edition of the album on January 23, 2026, which includes a remastered edition of the album, 11 demos, and Live in Denver on vinyl for the first time.^[64] On December 5, 2025, the demo version of "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" was released as a digital single, along with a lyric video on the band's YouTube channel.^[65]

Credits for A Fever You Can't Sweat Out taken from the album's liner notes and Apple Music,^{[70] [71]} except where noted.

Panic! at the Disco

• Brendon Urie – vocals, bass guitar (uncredited)^[a]; guitars (all ext. 1, 8), keyboards (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8,), synthesizers (track 3), piano (tracks 8, 9, 12), accordion (track 13)
• Ryan Ross – guitars, programming; synthesizers (tracks 2-6, 8, 9), keyboards (tracks 6-8, 10-13), piano (track 9), accordion (tracks 9, 13), organ (tracks 6, 8, 9); creative direction
• Brent Wilson – bass guitar (disputed)^[a]
• Spencer Smith – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• William Brousserd – trumpet (tracks 9, 12)
• Heather Stebbins – cello (tracks 8, 10, 12, 13)
• Samantha Bynes – violin (tracks 10, 12)

Production

• Matt Squire – production, engineering, mixing
• Panic! at the Disco – additional production
• UE Nastasi – mastering
• Emeka@Visualkoncepts.com – design
• Alan Ferguson – photography