It’s time to dig the hair dye out the back of the cupboard and get your fringe straight as a laser as Paramore return with their first new music in five years.
The three-piece from Franklin, Tennessee have been through it since debut album All We Know Is Falling was released in 2005, with follow-up Riot! making them one of the biggest emo bands in the world.
Currently comprised of diminutive frontwoman Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro, Paramore have survived the departure of original guitarist Josh Farro (whose brother left with him and later re-joined) and Jeremy Davis (on three separate occasions), divorce, depression and a shifting musical landscape to remain one of the biggest acts in rock.
That journey has been documented the whole way by the music, which has gone from the simple pop-punk/emo of their debut, through harder sounds all the way to synth-pop.
What would that journey sound like as a playlist? Well, we’ve attempted to find out. This is not a list of the 10 best Paramore songs – that’ll surely come on a Greatest Hits album at some point in the future – but an attempt to tell the band’s story in their own words through some highlights of their more than 15 year career.
To paraphrase the band, here’s what you get.
PRESSURE (All We Know Is Falling, 2005)
Paramore’s debut album came out when they were all around 16, meaning this song was written by some 15-year-olds. Most 15-year-olds can’t work the washing machine.
Arguably the band’s signature song, discomfort over the “once a whore, you’re nothing more” couplet in the second verse saw them retire it from live performances. Sexual politics aside it’s an undeniable pop-punk banger built on an instantly recognisable riff and a hefty dose of teenage jealousy.
LET THE FLAMES BEGIN (Riot!, 2007)
Turning themes of religious belief into something teenagers want to listen to is no easy feat. Kanye West did it on ‘Jesus Walks’ and Williams does it here with a slow-building, almost grungey effort that explodes into a chorus that practically demands head-banging.
Third album Brand New Eyes can be viewed as emo’s Rumours as it recounts a messy breakup between Williams and her erstwhile songwriting partner, guitarist Josh Farro. “You’re not a judge but if you’re going to judge me? Well, sentence me to another life” she spits on this ferocious lead single before informing her then-bandmate “I don’t want to hear your sad songs, I don’t want to feel your pain”. Ouch.
ALL I WANTED (Brand New Eyes, 2009)
The opposite side of the coin, as Williams mournfully remembers the good times on the album’s closing track. “I could follow you to the beginning/just to relive the start/and maybe then we’d remember to slow down/at all of our favourite parts” she sighs over a brooding Farro riff, in the best vocal performance of her career.
The second single from the 2012’s self-titled album sees the group on altogether peppier form in a wide-eyed, pop-tastic love song. Showcasing an altogether sweeter side of the band, its insistent hook and scaled-back lyrics made it one of Paramore’s biggest hits to date.
Old scars can take some healing and this deep cut sees Williams reveal herself as “a woman with no fear” except the fear of heartbreak determined to change her ways. “So do you love me?” she asks on the bridge, assuring “all you’ve got to do is say yes, and I won’t ever second guess”.
Paramore returned with an unexpected synth-pop direction on 2017’s After Laughter but, as the title hints, there was more going on beneath the surface. The upbeat music contrasted with tales of depression, no more so than on ‘Fake Happy’ which sees Williams implore “please don’t ask me how I’ve been, don’t make me play pretend”.
HAYLEY WILLIAMS - SIMMER (Petals for Armor, 2019)
In 2019 Williams did what she’d long vowed not to and released a solo album. This lead single was certainly a departure, with ominous vocal harmonies layered over sparse synths giving it a horror movie aesthetic.
The band's comeback single builds on the 80s-influenced sounds of After Laughter but with an altogether darker tone. Seeming to reference the group's long hiatus the chorus evokes anxiety with the refrain: "this is why I don't leave the house/you say the coast is clear but you won't catch me out". Williams, Farro and York have also been vocal in support of issues like abortion rights, and perhaps send a political message in a song that opens "if you have an opinion, maybe you should shove it".
B.O.B FEATURING HAYLEY WILLIAMS & EMINEM - AIRPLANES PART II (The Adventures of Bobby Ray, 2010)
Most will have heard the original smash hit, but the reprise takes it to new levels. Williams’ hook is as powerful as ever before Eminem steals the show in the final verse, relegating B.o.B to third wheel on his own track.
CHVRCHES FEATURING HAYLEY WILLIAMS - BURY IT (Every Open Eye, 2016)
A remix of one of the highlights from the Glaswegian synth-pop band’s second album, this certified banger perhaps offered a clue of where Paramore would go on After Laughter.
LOOKING UP (Brand New Eyes, 2009)
Artists will often talk about “the place I was in” when they wrote a song and in this case the answer was clearly “a tour bus”. One of the catchiest choruses of Paramore’s back catalogue exclaims “honestly can you believe we cross the world while it’s asleep?” in this paean to the group’s not-to-be-taken-for-granted success.
EMERGENCY (All We Know Is Falling, 2005)
Whether a 15-year-old Hayley Williams had really “seen love die way too many times” is a moot point, she’ll make you believe it.
Ignore the calypso guitars and upbeat chants, the lyrics tell a tale of a partner not being able to understand depression. “You say we’ve got to look on the bright side, well maybe if you want to go blind,” Williams tells the titular boy. “You say my eyes are getting too dark, but boy you ain’t ever seen my mind.”
Read more from this series:
10 Teenage Fanclub songs that tell the story of one of Scotland's best bands
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