Paramore: S/T (Fuelled By Ramen)
Paramore is the first album the band have written and recorded since the Farro brothers rather public and venomous departure. Hayley Williams recently told us Paramore listens as "a diary of the last year" covering much “emotional ground”. Examples of this can be found on the first track Fast in My Car in which Williams sings 'Been through the ringer a couple times/I came out callous and cruel'. What follows is a mature, articulate, and wholly entertaining walk through the minds and emotions experienced by the band throughout the last year. The crunching guitars and layered synths of first single Now hits us right between the eyes before we are lulled into the quirky pop dream that is Grow Up perfectly summing up Williams and the bands current mind-set, that ‘some of us have to grow up sometimes’. Second single Still Into You displays the band at their catchiest, a piece of sweet addictive pop with slick production and lyrics you can really sing along to. As you can tell, plenty of genre hopping can be found on Paramore. Tracks such as Daydreaming treat us to shoegaze influenced anthemic stadium rock, whilst Part II display the trademark Paramore sound, only refined by the fantastic production from Justin Meldal-Johnson (Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Nine Inch Nails). But for me the stand out track and a personal favourite of mine Ain’t It Fun perfectly sums up Paramore’s evolution. The track is something new and fresh, with a gospel choir lending their powerful vocals to a rousing finale. It shows us that Williams and Co are really having fun experimenting and utilizing every instrument, sound, and idea in which to channel the highly emotive content of every song. In a week where the album went number 1 in both the USA and the UK it’s hard not to see its appeal. Paramore’ explores new and exciting territory that may confuse some but delight many, summing up what has been a turbulent couple of years for the band. But if there is anything to be gained by all that life experience, its music in its purest form, good, honest and most of all fun. 10/10
Paramore is the first album the band have written and recorded since the Farro brothers rather public and venomous departure. Hayley Williams recently told us Paramore listens as "a diary of the last year" covering much “emotional ground”. Examples of this can be found on the first track Fast in My Car in which Williams sings 'Been through the ringer a couple times/I came out callous and cruel'. What follows is a mature, articulate, and wholly entertaining walk through the minds and emotions experienced by the band throughout the last year. The crunching guitars and layered synths of first single Now hits us right between the eyes before we are lulled into the quirky pop dream that is Grow Up perfectly summing up Williams and the bands current mind-set, that ‘some of us have to grow up sometimes’. Second single Still Into You displays the band at their catchiest, a piece of sweet addictive pop with slick production and lyrics you can really sing along to. As you can tell, plenty of genre hopping can be found on Paramore. Tracks such as Daydreaming treat us to shoegaze influenced anthemic stadium rock, whilst Part II display the trademark Paramore sound, only refined by the fantastic production from Justin Meldal-Johnson (Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Nine Inch Nails). But for me the stand out track and a personal favourite of mine Ain’t It Fun perfectly sums up Paramore’s evolution. The track is something new and fresh, with a gospel choir lending their powerful vocals to a rousing finale. It shows us that Williams and Co are really having fun experimenting and utilizing every instrument, sound, and idea in which to channel the highly emotive content of every song. In a week where the album went number 1 in both the USA and the UK it’s hard not to see its appeal. Paramore’ explores new and exciting territory that may confuse some but delight many, summing up what has been a turbulent couple of years for the band. But if there is anything to be gained by all that life experience, its music in its purest form, good, honest and most of all fun. 10/10