Love them or loathe them, that’s your prerogative, but to deny that Panic! At The Disco are the second phenomenon-proportioned act of 2006 thus far is to demonstrate sour-faced ignorance. The Las Vegas quartet have stormed this country’s teens – the same demographic that lapped up the goth-pop of My Chemical Romance last year with such gusto – in an entirely similar fashion to the way that band from Sheffield has won the hearts of the older-and-wiser crowd.

The reason why is obvious: last single ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ had everything the semi-disaffected sort required for optimum aural enjoyment – super-sized pop hooks, enough compositional creativity to attract the attentions of even hard-line haters, the suggestion of emotional turmoil in the lyrics, a vocal delivery that benefited from its imperfections, and a title that was more nu-emo that Fall Out Boy’s entire back catalogue. ‘But It’s Better If You Do’ is not as strong a standalone song, but is certain, nevertheless, to aid the ascent of the band’s star further still.

Lyrics come quick and often manifest themselves in an almost indiscernible fashion, although distress of the heart is implied in tone, at least. In a masterstroke of song-writing maturity beyond their tender years, the track’s breakdown is actually whimsical in its execution, and the overall impression is that Panic! are looking to stretch their wings beyond the span of generic convention; that they’re doing so while achieving significant commercial success is testament to the superlative pop cores of their songs.

Loathe them, do, for it seems Panic! At The Disco only feed upon such negativity, turning it into popularity-winning songs worthy of critical commendation. That this critic abstains from offering an absolute seal of approval is evidence only of his fear that friends will disown him for doing so…

If I dislike 'But It's Better If You Do', how will I ever be able to meet the gaze of emo kids ever again, as their mournful faces peer at me from Myspace video blogs? Should I spare their fragile feelings and forget to mention how this is not a patch on previous effort 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies', despite it not being that different? Everything is present, from the upbeat, frayed vocal line and the punchy arrangement, to the colloquial lyricism courtesy of vocalist Brendon Urie, but just as it threatens to unleash a chorus capable of puncturing lead with its frustrated anger, it falters into a skip beat at the critical moment - bouncy, pop-punky and ultimately disappointing.

However, I can’t totally scythe down the efforts of Panic! At the Disco, despite my general loathing for semi-castrato vocals. Urie may slur his words like every other nu-emo idiot, but the band behind Urie occasionally show flair with stop-start timing and pop songwriting - should they ever move away from overly-emotive vocals to something with a little more conviction, they could become something better than the next My Chemical Romance.

Despite my ultimate hatred for this single I find myself singing it every five minutes, which surely signals it’s not all bad even if I do feel one step closer to a breakdown.