Paramore’s This Is Why is more than just a release: new record is a rupture between the “old Paramore” and the new
With rarely explored post-punk and indie influences, Paramore’s new album is a clear divide in the band’s discography
It’s normal for bands who are in the music industry for a long time to want to reinvent themselves. When we bring up 18 years old Paramore, the usual association is immediate: All We Know Is Falling, Riot! and Brand New Eyes consolidated the band’s image in the industry as rock and emo, and the lead singer’s voice, Hayley Williams, is remembered by her vocal range, which, most of the time, is used to its full potential. This Is Why was released to effectively change the world’s view on Paramore.
Paramore’s transition from hard rock and emo to its current sound didn’t start with their new album. The self-titled Paramore, released in 2013, started, even if subtly, introducing different influences to the songs — Ain’t It Fun and Still Into You are great examples in that record of their new pop sound, the synthetic sounds distinguishing from their previous works that used mostly just instruments and had a heavy sound that just stuck and made the band what it was. After Laughter, in 2017, climbed a few more steps, assertively letting go of the past even further, with more pop tones and experimentation. On the other hand, as This Is Why followed their lead, it went another way. It doesn’t sound much like their first records, but it doesn’t sound much like their recent ones either.
This Is Why is Paramore’s sixth project. With 10 tracks, it’s a short but concise record. The 36 minutes and 16 seconds deliver the main message the way it was supposed to. It’s a coherent album, primarily focusing on the narrative exposed from the first song down to the last one. Despite the familiar topics the songs discuss, like love, ego, anxiety, mental health and overall daily worries, Paramore’s approach is different than what everyone’s used to. The main focus, followed faithfully and masterfully, is human nature. The raw human essence, showcasing feelings that, most times, no one wants to admit — even to themselves — that they are feeling. It’s an extremely sincere and honest record and that is what distinguishes This Is Why from other albums that talk about the same subjects and, in turn, prevents it to become just one more of what has already been done: it talks about those feelings behind one of the lenses through which people see things and don’t have the courage to reveal. I never said I wasn’t petty.
The post-punk and indie influences within the album are new for Paramore and it can cause some astonishment, mainly for faithful listeners and fans. On an episode of Everything Is Emo podcast, Hayley Williams was open about Bloc Party’s influence on their new album, talking about the urgency to their sound and how unique and dynamic it is. She praised other bands, like The 1975, for doing their own thing and “following their own arrow” — and that is precisely what Paramore is doing with this new record.
The first track, named after the album, This Is Why, reveals one of the biggest reasons why the record can cause a strange first impression to assiduous listeners and why it can be seen as a rupture from the rest of their discography. Hayley plays with her voice in a way she had never done before. The low tone of her voice is a change as to how people used to listen to her, and this is a constant matter throughout the entire album. Running Out Of Time, the second track, features the singer practically using her speech voice in several moments of the song — slower, lower and not really emphasizing her words in some points. It’s a big change for the singer who’s known for songs like All I Wanted, Decode and That’s What You Get.
When we think about the Bloc Party references on this album, The News and C’est Comme Ça are good examples. The second and fourth track have faster rhythm and fast, fun guitar backing it up that can send the listener right back to Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm, their first record released in 2005. In C’est Comme Ça, Hayley also abuses her speech voice in most of the song.
What used to be heavy hands on drums and guitar strings, now, listening to Paramore, it can’t really be called hard rock anymore. What comes closer to it on this new record are the songs You First and Figure 8, that bring back some nostalgia from Brand New Eyes, their third album, even if just a little. You First features Hayley spilling the truth about her most dark thoughts — turns out I’m living in a horror film where I’m both the killer and the final girl — and it’s that cruel honesty that makes this album overcome the initial strangeness and confusion from the abrupt change of sound. You First also contains some guitar riffs and sound effects that really bring those indie rock references, sounding a lot like The Strokes’ album The New Abnormal. Figure 8 also showcases indie-like rhythm and guitars and the desperation of an endless cycle that she can’t seem to get out of, once again returning to the narrative the whole album ends up consisting of.
Liar, the 8th track, talks about love with a very different eye than what listeners are mostly used to. Hayley talks about how she protects someone to the point of protecting them from her. “My love, I lied to you, but you always knew the truth”. It’s another song where the vocalist doesn’t change her voice tone, keeping it low and stable, though not devoid of emotion. Crave and Thick Skull follow the same sad and emotional lead, closing the album on a sad note.
I am attracted to broken people, I pick them up and now my fingers are bleeding.
This Is Why portrays what most people are terrified of speaking out loud. Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Zac Farro wrote it for the whole world to hear. And, on top of that, managed to deliver a clear and direct message: we won’t be the same band we were 18 years ago.
