ALBUM REVIEW: This Is Why – Paramore
They’re one of the most instantly recognisable bands to have come from the early 2000s emo/pop punk scene, but PARAMORE have never been bound by such petty genre constraints, and that gave them a longevity far beyond that of many of their peers. After 2017’s After Laughter, which saw them embrace saccharine pop while Hayley Williams penned songs about lives falling apart (particularly her own), the band took a break, but they all kept creating; Williams in particular, who launched her own solo career with two well-received albums that saw her embracing pop and a more subdued, intimate style and production.
The news (pardon the pun) of their return was, naturally, huge to fans, and their first single This Is Why hinted at a new stylistic direction again, this time heavily influenced by the early 2000s post-punk revival from the UK, taking cues from bands like BLOC PARTY while still folding in their own idiosyncratic sound and influence from Williams’ solo work. Its follow up single, The News, pushed ever further into that post-punk direction as Williams laments the state of the world as shown through the 24-hour news cycle, with the only choice to switch off from it all.
It’s a strong opening that showcases this new PARAMORE that’s embraced contemporary music as much as it has reached backwards without ever going for the easy nostalgia album; we might all love All We Know Is Falling and Riot!, but thankfully the trio’s music has always grown alongside them. That evolution seems to be exemplified in Running Out Of Time where they marry Williams’ ability to belt huge melodies in its chorus with a more low-key verse that delves into indie and alt rock.
The return of the same line-up as their previous album – a first for the band – ensures at least some sense of musical continuity despite the stylistic shifts; Zac Farro’s drumming is recognisable immediately and while there’s not always the same flair for the dramatic as was the case with their pop-punk landmarks Riot! and Brand New Eyes, there’s still an urgency to the fills and a drive to his rhythms. Similarly, Taylor York is adept at crafting memorable guitar lines to counterpoint their vocal melodies.
If there are criticisms to be had, it’s that for once in their life, PARAMORE don’t quite feel like they’re on the cutting edge; every album to now has felt like them pushing in some new direction not only for them but taking a shape that might have been done before and bending it in new and interesting directions. This Is Why, though, isn’t quite there. Lyrically it’s less incisive and biting as before; The News doesn’t ever match the strength of feeling meted out by Williams’ or her bandmates’ statements in interviews or on social media, instead seemingly relying on news tropes that could be pulled from 2016.
It’s also quite a back-loaded album. The front half isn’t bad whatsoever but C’est Comme Ça doesn’t feel as sarcastic as the lyrics should, the “na na na” feeling contrived rather than the sardonic tone the song would imply. Big Man, Little Dignity though offers up not only one of the best titles on the album but also a real earworm melody over the driving drums that swiftly sinks its hooks in. The final run, from Figure 8 through to closer Thick Skull sees them finally merge this newer sound with the power they’ve previously been able to effortlessly bring to bear, particularly with Williams’ vocals. It leaves This Is Why in a strange position; arguably a very good album, but one that feels as if it doesn’t play to PARAMORE’s strengths quite as much in its drive to experiment, and one that only pays off partially.
Rating: 8/10
This Is Why is out now via Atlantic Records.
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