Vaibhvi Patel
Overall Rating: 8/10
Paramore recently dropped their latest album, This Is Why, after a six-year gap from their last release. The rock band consists of the trio: lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Their comeback features ten new songs that illustrate the incredible growth this punk-rock band has undergone throughout their hiatus.
“This Is Why” (10/10)
The first song of the ten track album starts off as a banger. After only listening to it once, some of the lyrics are still stuck in my head. Paramore has always been a band that supports minorities and the unprivileged groups of society. “This Is Why” specifically encourages the act of speaking up, not letting others opinions bring you down, and making sure criticism of all sorts doesn’t stop you: “If you have an opinion / Maybe you should shove it / Or maybe you could scream it.” The trio implements lyrics that convey their liberal views on how society should be open to those who are part of racial minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, those who have mental health disorders, and those who need reproductive care and abortion services. Paramore openly voice their response to some of society’s greatest issues through catchy and powerful lyrics. I really believe this song is a great example of musically getting opinions and feelings across to different audiences.
“The News”(7/10)
The second song of the album, “The News,” stands out with its repetitiveness. Paramore emphasizes the way people have to either “turn on, [or] turn off the news” as the world is faced with a global pandemic, war conflicts, and mass shootings. Paramore uses jumpy sounds and quick beats to embody the crazy affect these problems have on everyone. As a high schooler, I can understand the daunting feelings that trail behind the news.
“Running Out Of Time”(8/10)
This single starts off with catchy guitar and leads to the first verse, which has a great balance between beats and vocals. The pre-chorus and chorus mesh well with each other and contain great lyrics to sing along to. The song as an overall depicts Hayley Williams’ desire to be a kind person, but fixates on how her procrastination prevents her from being the best person she can be. Despite being a song with a very personal premise, “Running Out Of Time” is really captivating due to its upbeat backgrounds. The song as whole has a fun and whimsical feel to it, even though it discusses important topics that many people can relate to. Personally, this song has deep place in my heart as it vocalizes some of my own difficulties.
“C’est Comme Ca” (5/10)
Paramore takes on a new stylistic approach for their single, “C’est Comme Ca,” which is a French saying that translates to “that’s just how it is.” The song uses repetition and a well immersed mix between guitar and drum. The rock band adopts a sprechgesang style for this song, which is a mix between speech and vocals. The French part of the song is the vocal, while the English part of the song is the speech. I felt that this song didn’t live up to the same hype as the others from this album.
“Big Man, Little Dignity” (8/10)
“Big Man, Little Dignity,” takes on a different route compared to the other songs. Hayley Williams uses her platform as the main vocalists to bring to light how men in society tend to get away with anything with little to no punishments. She implements a series of heartfelt lyrics that many women can relate to. I interpreted this single as a response to all the men who use their position in society to step on others.
“You First” (8/10)
Paramore uses a loopy beat with this hot single and implements strong beats that resonate with different tones and moods in the song. The lyrics range from slow to fast speed and each has a very important meaning. The song, in short, is a rejection to the common phrase, “living well is the best revenge.” As a revenge fanatic, I can sympathize with the band’s opinions of going against the norm.
“Figure 8” (7/10)
Hayley Williams shares many personal sentiments in this song and throughout the chorus and the first verse, she brings to light how her past relationship as a minor with an adult has affected her. She goes on to say how she will break away from her problems, which seem to spin in a figure eight – a symbol for infinity and no end. Even though there is deep meaning behind this single, the song doesn’t sound the greatest compared to the other ones on the tracklist.
“Liar” (10/10)
The eighth song of the track album begins with a guitar beat and goes on to a solemn tone. The lyrics convey a heartbreaking way to admit one’s love for another. The slow beat and vocals depict the deep feelings Hayley Willaims felt. She uses the song to bring forth how someone may lie to themselves about who they love and how doing so shouldn’t make them feel ashamed. Personally, “Liar,” might be one of the most relatable songs to date.
“Crave” (8/10)
Paramore takes a deep approach to the feeling of nostalgia and how to live in the moment. They go into detail how one may “crave” the moments they cherish and from the first verse you can feel how important it is to them the importance of these memories. I love the way the song uses a melancholic beat and vocals to show how one may feel when thinking about the past, present, and future.
“Thick Skull” (9/10)
The tenth final track from the album “This Is Why” begins with a sad mood and slow beat. I believe Parmore purposefully made this single their last on the tracklist due to its emotional premise. This song is another personal rendition for Hayley Willaims as it is forthcoming on her past mistakes and how her bad experiences have caused her many mental health issues. She lyrically brings to the stage how people have always been quick to blame issues regarding Paramore on her, since she is the front woman. The eerie tones bring to light how one may inflict pain on others despite experiencing it themselves, and how being strong after suffering will not stop the pain one feels.
Even after a long gap, Paramore brings out catchy songs with deep meanings ranging from personal to societal messages.