Has there been a more anticipated album in alternative music in the past 5 years than this one? I’m genuinely asking because I’m not sure if there has been. Maybe that’s because of the circles I run around in or the people I work with but I’m pretty sure I heard more people wondering and more tweets asking about a new Paramore album than any other artist I pay attention too.
And look, I love Paramore, but when an album is anticipated as much as this one was, the level of expectation reaches a point that you have to wonder if it will ever be reached. Another thing to wonder in anticipation for this album was, and this’ll come off much meaner than I intend it to, would it even be good? Now hear me out, I only bring this up because of how other bands that came up at the same time and in the same scene as Paramore have panned out recently. Most of their former Fueled By Ramen labelmates haven’t really been on the hottest hot streaks recently. Twenty One Pilots’ last album Scaled and Icy was a dud outside of a few great songs, Brendon Urie is putting the final dagger in Panic! at the Disco this March as if two horrible albums and so. many. allegations. didn’t already do that, and last but not least, Fall Out Boy seems to be trending upwards but M A N I A still gives me nightmares sometimes. With all this happening, would Paramore be able to deliver a quality album? Or would they be the next in the line of bands from their era falling short of the benchmark?
To some fans, yes, This is Why is the continuing fall off of Paramore. It’s the band continuing to ditch all of their pop-punk and angsty roots rather adopting a more mature, clean, poppy sound. To others, this is another great installment of the dance and new wave sounds the band explored on After Laughter. To sum this up, if you hated After Laughter, I’m not sure how much you’ll enjoy This is Why. However, if you loved After Laughter, there’s a lot to like here. And just so we can set the record straight, I love After Laughter and I love This is Why.
I’ve said this to a couple of friends that asked me about the album but somehow, it feels like the band took two steps backward while at the same time taking a giant leap forward. The album has a lot of the same grooves and danceable production and performances of After Laughter, though they don’t feel as polished and clean as they did on that album. This album also brings back some of the pop-punk energy of their early work. It doesn’t quite hit the highs of an album like RIOT! or Brand New Eyes but it’s a noticeable shift from After Laughter. The balance of the two things on this album are what really makes this a winner for me.
Take the opening title track for example. The song starts of with a killer bassline, a simple, groovy drum pattern, and some soft guitar chords. It almost feels like a Radiohead song at times. Then, when the chorus comes in, it turns into a dance-punk rager with a super catchy chorus, great gang vocals and harmonies, and super tight and groovy playing from drummer Zac Farro and guitarist Taylor York. Lyrically, Hayley Williams is singing about anxieties caused by the outside world around us. Social unrest, homophobia, racism, and so many other issues that plague society constantly. Hayley sings on the second verse:
Better have conviction
‘Cause we want crimes of passion
Survival of the fittest
You’re either with us or you can keep it
To yourself
I also love her line at the end of the bridge saying one step outside the door makes her feel like she’s “floating like a cannonball.” The themes of a constantly changing social climate and the stresses/anxieties that come with that are explored a bit further on the album’s second teaser track, The News. Hayley sings about how she wants to help and she wants to be educated on major events going on in the world but watching the news doesn’t help her at all. She sings in the second verse about how she worries, pledges support, sends money, but still “feels useless behind this computer,” she also sings in the chorus:
Every second, our collective heart breaks
All together, every single head shakes
Shut your eyes, but it won’t go away
Turn on, turn off the news
She also calls out our modern news stream and cycle in the bridge saying it’s “exploitative, performative, informative and we don’t know the half of it.” Instrumentally, this song is a 180 from the title track with a bit more of a pop-punk edge and a fiery drum performance from Zac Farro. Hayley’s vocal performance on the song too is angry, pissed off, and just lost trying to find answers that she might not ever get.
Now if you’re worried at this point about this being a super political album destined to solve all of society’s ills, don’t worry, it’s not. Most of the rest of the album is about growing up, maturing, and moving past trauma and previous life events that have been holding Hayley back. Thick Skull, the closing track, is a great example of that. Hayley opens the song with one of her heaviest verses across the entire album singing:
I am a magnet for broken pieces
I am attracted to broken people
I pick ’em up and now my fingers are bleedin’
And it looks like my fault
And it looks like I’m caught red-handed
The song is about Hayley continuing to make similar mistakes and putting herself in toxic situations but never seeming to learn her lesson. Instrumentally, the song kind of reminds me of The Vampyre of Time and Memory by Queens of the Stone Age, just with its slow piano build which leads to a pretty epic finish in the back half of the song. Hayley’s belting at the end of the song is just fantastic. There’s also Running Out Of Time which is about procrastination and Hayley making fun of her poor time management skills. I love the line in the pre-chorus about how “Intentions only get you so far.” The second verse is great too with Hayley coming up with different excuses for her tardiness. The chorus, while only really one line, kind of reminds me of LCD Soundsystem’s Losing My Edge, just with the drum pattern and the general energy of the song.
The hits on the album just keep coming too with the strongest punch on the album coming right in the middle with the back-to-back run of You First and Figure 8. You First is a song about pettiness and Hayley hoping for karma to catch up to certain people in her life. I love the way the song goes from super explosive and energetic verses to a pretty lowkey pre-chorus before the band kicks back in on all cylinders for the chorus. Figure 8 keeps the energy level high with another catchy chorus, killer drum performance, and lyrics about a toxic relationship. Hayley sings about becoming someone she hated for a former lover’s sake. She sings in the second verse too that she won’t miss the feeling of “my flimsy spine, unsuspicious mind.” She also adds that she was just trying to be nice but this person mistook her for weak and took advantage of that. And unfortunately, she’s lost inside of this cycle, likening it to being trapped inside a figure eight.
I also should probably address the slower songs on the album as well. Big Man, Little Dignity has grown on me lyrically since the album was released but I think the instrumental is still pretty meh at best. Hayley’s lyrics on the song are hilarious calling out men who might look big and scary but are just overcompensating for having nothing else going for them. She sings about how looking at the guy in question is like watching a movie she loves to hate, just praying on his downfall. There’s also a great line about how after getting into a messy situation, the man’s “subscription to redemption has been renewed,” just sort of moving past it without facing any consequences. Hayley finishes up that verse by calling the man a “smooth operator in a sh*t stained suit.”
The album bows out with the songs Liar and Crave. Liar is a song Hayley wrote about wrestling with the emotions and denial she had for falling in love with bandmate Taylor York (the two are rumored to have been dating since as far back as 2018, the couple confirmed their relationship in an interview with The Guardian in 2022). She explains that she tried to put the pin back in the grenade of her emotions, she also adds:
I got too good at fighting chemicals
And dodgin’ arrows I was asking for
She also adds in the bridge:
Love is not an easy thing to admit
But I’m not ashamed of it
Love is not a weakening if you feel it rushin’ in
Don’t be ashamed of it
Crave on the other hand, is all about nostalgia and wanting “the good ol’ days!” back. It’s a pretty sweet song with Hayley opens the song by saying she can’t to memorize the day, saying a picture couldn’t contain how she feels. She also says that even though there have been days when “all it took to make me cry was bein’ alive,” she still wouldn’t trade any of those moments and wouldn’t want to change any of it not that she’s grown up and gotten older.
So, the age-old question to wrap this review up. Was this album worth the wait? Absolutely yes. Of course, there will always be the naysayers upset that Hayley Williams isn’t an angsty teenager anymore and they’re not just trying to revel in the glory of Misery Business or trying to recreate RIOT! every time they put out a new album. Those people, just like the band, need to grow up and mature. The band has done that, they’ve evolved their sound, and not only does the music still sound good, it sounds and looks like they’re still having a great time making and performing all of this new stuff. One last thing I want to say before I close this review out. I’ve always held a belief that Zac Farro is one of the most underrated drummers in modern rock music however his talents have really only been able to shine during live performances when he can throw in insane fills while still somehow keeping time. In an interview with Rolling Stone while the album was still being recorded, Hayley had said that one of their goals while recording was “Zac, should go as Animal as he wants on drum takes,” and because of that, he shines insanely bright on this album.
Definitely give this album a spin, it’s getting heavy play on our airwaves already because we’re all huge Paramore fans so if you like any of what you hear, you’re bound to enjoy at least most of the rest of this album.
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