There was once a time when Paramore was a blinding ball of light in emo/pop punk. Not to say that their lumens have faded, but you’d think this was a different band than the one who gave us the angst-ridden “Misery Business” from the masterful pop punk album “Riot” of 2007. Maybe it’s the clock, and Paramore—vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro—are just mellowing as the years pile on.
Mellowing is not a bad thing. Actually, a better term would be maturing, which Paramore has certainly been doing sonically as can be heard on their latest and sixth album titled “This Is Why.”
Through 10 tracks, Paramore have traded their brand of punk pop for slick, 80’s styled pop rock and new wave productions. In other words, Paramore sounds like a 2023 band.
Williams, York and Farro kick it off with title track “This Is Why” channeling Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” vibes and rocking new wave style while at it. These kinds of sonics would recur throughout the new Paramore record: Glossy productions, clean-cutting keyboard sounds, pop melodies and clean stabs of rhythm guitars more than high gain heaviness.
A good example would be “Running Out Of Time” which sounds so far from the pop punk but sounds so Paramore at the same time. Then it segues perfectly in new wave influenced “C’est Comme Ca,” a dance track that recalls the vibe of The Cure or even “Girls On Film”-era Duran Duran.
At this point, Paramore’s themes become apparent. Timely “The News” is an observational piece about the doom scrolling nature of our news feeds and negativity of social media today with Williams commenting in her lyrics: “exploitative, performative, informative and we don’t know the half of it / rhetorical, deplorable, historical and all along we call it normal,” amidst both a moody and aggressive sonic backdrop, as Williams urges: “Turn off, turn off the news.”
Speaking of lyrics, some standout Hayley Williams lines include the lyrics “your subscription to redemption has renewed / you keep your head high, smooth operator in a shit-stained suit from “Big Man, Little Dignity.”
Sonic contrasts on “You First” go from rocking to clean sounding, midtempo to as Taylor York’s guitar dictates the mood. Meanwhile, “Figure 8” starts out with “Pale Shelter”-esque keyboards then turns spiky as Taylor’s stabbing guitar rhythms enter.
York’s six-string prowess works wonders on beautiful, moody and tender love song “Liar” as Hayley Williams softly croons “love is not an easy thing to admit / but I am not ashamed of it / love is not a weakening / If you feel it rushing in.”
For his part, drummer Zac Farro is the glue that holds it together. While on record, it’s obvious that overdubs can be done to make the sound fuller, there are time that Hayley, York and Farro does sound like a trio on the new record, like on “Crave” (a track that would totally sound like New Order if they put more keyboards on it.) Closing the “This Is Why” is mid tempo and mellowed out rocker “Thick Skull.”
Mellow? Maybe, but that doesn’t mean Paramore can’t still rock.