HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Paramore – Paramore
PARAMORE‘s self-titled fourth album is a reintroduction to the band. Released in 2013, the band found themselves shedding their skin and reinventing their music. By this point, PARAMORE had been a band for nine years, having formed in 2004. After releasing three albums, along with multiple line-up changes, the band’s self-titled showcased that no matter what direction they go in musically, at the core of all their albums, there will always be the deep love of music.
Fast In My Car is the first song. It is a funky, fast-paced song that is a fun opening, but isn’t particularly memorable compared to the rest of the songs on the album. Now is the song which follows, but is severely underrated. Hayley Williams delivers one of her best vocal performances on this song, especially on the bridge. In fact, this song could have been great, even if the lyrics sometimes sound slightly cliché, as they talk about wanting a future, if there is one.
Grow Up showcases a slightly funk side to PARAMORE with some fantastic guitar work by Taylor York. With their eponymous album, the band took influence from several genres, which shows they don’t care about labels. Admittedly, with this effort, it does get off to a slightly rough start with the first four songs or so sounding very similar. Thankfully, the tracks also show a lot of love has been put into the album. It is also very noticeable the band sound a little like they are holding back a bit and not letting their full potential shine through. This is understandable as this marked a fresh start for the band, and they can be hard to get right. However, it is only by the first interlude, titled Moving On, that the album gets into its groove.
PARAMORE are at their very best when they are letting go and simply having fun. This is best exemplified on Ain’t It Fun, which is a fantastic pop-rock song that even throws in a six-piece gospel choir that really makes the song come alive, especially at the end. It is the best example of music bringing people together. Part II is the sequel to Let The Flames Begin from Riot! (2007). A slightly more subdued song than its predecessor, this does not slow the pacing of the album song, as Part II explodes into a riot of joy in its arena-ready chorus.
Last Hope is a euphoric anthem about holding on throughout dark times. The mostly stripped-back song really allows for Williams‘s vocals to take centre stage. Still Into You is an upbeat pop love song that is about a long-term relationship, whereas Anklebiters is a fast paced pop-punk song. Holiday is an acoustic interlude. These three songs showcase different sides to PARAMORE. Proof takes the band into a more rock direction, and Hate To See Your Heart Break slows things down a bit. The rest of the album skips from pop-punk on (One Of Those) Crazy Girls, acoustic interlude with I’m Not Angry Anymore, and pop-rock with Be Alone. However, the most intriguing song comes with Future, a nearly eight-minute closer that showcases the band at their most experimental. It is mostly made up of slow acoustic guitars and Williams singing quietly. As the song progresses, the tempo builds up, until it finally unleashes into a plethora of the band jamming out, with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, including distorted guitar riffs. It is a truly ambitious way to end an album, and one that is well deserved.
The band did release an extended edition to the album, which include two new songs, Escape Route and Native Tongue, along with a few live songs. However, that brings the album to a runtime of almost two hours. The standard version of the album is 65 minutes long. Whilst the album is mostly brilliant, the runtime is 65 minutes, which does feel a little bloated. However, the album has a mostly smooth pacing.
At the time of release, the album reached Number 1 in the UK Album Charts, and earned critical acclaim with Alternative Press giving it 5/5, NME gave it a 7/10, and Rolling Stone gave it 4.5/5. The album even reached a lot of End of Year lists, with Drowned In Sound making it their fourth best album of 2013. In contrast, Sputnikmusic gave the album 1.5/5, and calling it “foolishness”. However, that was the only critical review of the album. Even the slightly more mixed reviews gave praise to the band.
In conclusion, PARAMORE‘s self-titled album is a fun album, that – despite a rough start and being slightly bloated – showcases a band reinventing themselves. Of course, it’s not perfect as reinventing yourself takes time. However, in retrospect, it is clear to see where the band were heading music-wise with this album, and how it laid the foundation blocks for what was to come. There are some fantastic songs on this album that have deservedly achieved a beloved status by fans, and even the slightly rougher songs at the start are great in their own right. Even ten years on, PARAMORE‘s self-titled is an album that shows that change isn’t scary; it is a necessary part of life, not matter how much you dread it. Most importantly, it can be a lot of fun.
Paramore was originally released on May 5 2013 via Atlantic Records.
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