Panic! at the Disco Can’t Stop Having Sex in the ‘Middle of a Breakup’

Panic! at the Disco get their feelings all tangled up on “Middle of a Breakup,” the latest offering from their upcoming album, Viva Las Vengeance, out Aug. 19 via Fueled by Ramen/DCD2 Records.

“Middle of a Breakup” is a blast of high-energy power-pop (there’s even a little synth riff on the bridge that seems to nod to Cheap Trick’s “Surrender”) with lyrics that find Brendon Urie trying, but failing, to end a tumultuous relationship: “Keep your disco, gimme T. Rex,” goes the hook, “Makeup sex in the middle of a breakup/Blessed be your last cigarette/Makeup sex in the middle of a breakup.”

The song arrives with a music video, directed by Brendan Walter, that stars Urie and Leah Adler as the couple struggling to keep their hands off each other. The clip includes some Grease-style musical theater vamping, not to mention some delightfully cheeky visual metaphors, such as a rocket ship launching into space and a very long train entering a tunnel.

“Middle of a Breakup” is the second offering from Viva Las Vengeance, following the title-track, which arrived back in June. Viva Las Vengeance is Panic! at the Disco’s seventh studio album and first since 2018’s Pray for the Wicked. Urie recorded the LP in Los Angeles, cutting it live to tape and working with his friends/production partners, Jake Sinclaire and Mike Viola.

Panic! at the Disco will launch a world tour in support of Viva Las Vengeance later this year. The North American leg will kick off Sept. 8 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, and wrap on Oct. 25 at the Chase Center in San Francisco (a run of European shows will follow in early 2023).