in which paramore make combat rock: THIS IS WHY (2023) album discussion thread

second half of this picks up where a lot of petals for armor left off, but it's much better realised overall

I will never not love how Hayley’s lyrical plainspokenness allows her to express things that feel like truths staring you in the face. The conceit of “You First” is so simple and yet I can’t think offhand of another song that captures it.

"i'm living in a horror film / where i'm both the killer and the final girl" is so hayley a line it might actually be too hayley

what a song tho, like a measured adult reinterpretation of misery business

aquatic second half of this album v gorge. best band

Completely satisfying album despite the short arc of being 10 songs / 36 minutes. The softer songs really shine (Big Man Little Dignity, Liar, Thick Skull).

Yeah, on first listen, Big Man and Thick Skull were the non-single tracks that stood out to me.

"i romanticize even the worst of times"

Love the woodwinds on a few songs!

First pass: Like-not-love. A solid album but I could do with more hooks and more energy. First time I think maybe the lyrics are stronger than the tunes? Granted my expectations are high given how much I love the previous two albums in particular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSOsm1BMfC0

i never knew york played drums on "monster" and the other singles club songs, but learning this reminded me of him saying in their recent zane lowe interview "drumming was the first instrument for all three of us" and i'm starting to think this is like a central prism through which to understand this band's music

This album rules. The guitar rules. The drums rule. The vocals rule. This is the good shit that I want. I already had one family member gong a song or two, which I view as an affirmation of the album's in your face-ness. I wonder what the others think.

After several listens, I really like most of the music. Only Liar feels underwhelming to me in that department. Vocally, I think Hayley's doing some great things. Lyrically though, I think listening to the entire thing has only reinforced the hesitations that I had from the pre-album singles. They really don't hit for me the way they did on previous albums. She's definitely taking a different tack in the lyric writing department, although it's a more linear change when taking her solo records into consideration. I still envision bumping it a lot this year, but I don't think I'll be doing much singing along.

first thought during my listen was after the back-to-back "running out of time"/"c'est comme ca" was i want more of that version of the band.

sounds later-era radiohead indebted. "liar" through "thick skull" is a fantastic run, although the second half all told is great.

"hey, hey - what's the body count up to now, captain?"

It's probably mostly just "Liar" but the final three tracks feel way more Heaven or Las Vegas than they have ever allowed themselves to get before.

"crave" definitely fits that, with the bonus new order bassline popping in around 2:30. album has been stuffed with little treasures on each new listen.

Surprised there’s no discussion of Running Out of Time which, aside from the early singles is my definitive fave track on here

more than cocteau twins i thought in rainbows, but i definitely hear that now too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urV3pYW8dD4

"Running Out of Time" from last night's Kimmel

that works better on tape than live i think

i thought paramore was a band whose audience were 15 year old mall-punk-girls

That was absolutely the case when I saw them 7/8 years ago

i am their audience

i liked that Kimmel performance actually - TV studio mixing is always bad but it's still pretty groovy.

15 yo mall punk girls usually have great taste imo. also most of them are now in their 30s.

that part

Good album, I'll just steal Nabozo's thought:

The softer songs really shine (Big Man Little Dignity, Liar, Thick Skull).

Add "Crave" to that though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toKJP3luQbI

finally dawned on me that "big man little dignity" and "crave" feel pulled from Kaputt-era Destroyer.

The flute solo on the former sounds exactly like Kaputt, yeah

This is why the album sounds so good.
Carlos de la Garza | Manny Marroquin | Harriet Tam

📸: Nyk Allen, Zac Farro pic.twitter.com/VvwMwD48DP

— paramore (@paramore) February 22, 2023

everyone is a bad guy
and there's no way NO WAY TO KNOW
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO'S THE WORRRRRRRRRST

"i'm living in a horror film / where i'm both the killer and the final girl" is so hayley a line it might actually be too hayley

apologies for typographical misrendering of this line; of course it's going to look corny butchered like that. here it is corrected:

TURNS OUT
I'M LIVING IN A HORROR FILM WHERE
I'M BOTH
THE KILLER AND THE FINAL GIRL SO
WHO
WHO ARE YOUUUUU-UU-UU-UU-UU-UU-UU-UUUU

this album is just not very good

lol

i really disagree

ive tried many times but can only get with about 1/3 of it

seeing them in a week hell yeah

they were great opening for taylor, think they only played this is why from this album, which is an awesome song live

I think they were supposed to play Lollapalooza here but something fell through. They played a really small place back in the winter, they are playing a bigger place up in Milwaukee this summer, but nothing in Chicago.

I like her solo record better than this record, but the solo record was super cool.

i think this is better than either of her solo records but tbh i prob would give any record with "figure 8" on it at least a 9.0

"liar" is one of the best things they've ever done, the way the melody swims around that broken drumbeat

Great show last night

though ending with “This Is Why” is odd, not the worst closer but still

they have flipped from opening with it to closing with it. i'm a very new fan so no nothing, but it felt good to me when i saw them. best gig!

https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2023/08/paramore-cancels-north-american-tour-hours-before-portland-show.html?

Hayley has a bad lung infection.

they played a delayed SF show a few days ago and the review mentioned there was a doctor stage-side which I thought sounded a little OTT but I guess I see why now

THIS IS THE REMIX

https://consequence.net/2023/10/paramore-remix-album-re-this-is-why/

The band described the project as “almost a remix album” in a statement on social media. “We’ve long wanted to recognize the connection we have with some of the artists who’ve influenced us as a band and/or who have cited our band as an influence,” they shared. “Some of the songs have been remixed sort of classically, while others were reworked or rewritten. It’s incredible to hear all our worlds colliding.”

this album is just not very good

i kind of agree with this. amazing title track, the rest doesn't do it for me, compared to her two solo records and after laughter, it was a bit disappointing.

4. Running Out Of Time (Re: @zanelowe)

no

I still envision bumping it a lot this year, but I don't think I'll be doing much singing along.

― peace, man, Friday, February 10, 2023 8:20 PM (seven months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Narrator: he did not bump it a lot this year

i really love side 1 of this album but have very little desire to hear it remixed though.

They should remix it until they sound like different songs imo

Seriously, the chorus is *right there*.

important thing with this remix album is they've thrown an unreleased demo from the after laughter sessions on there and it's pretty decent. wish they'd ended up finishing it

hey, this demo track is pretty great (even in its unfinished form)

ok - that makes sense it's from the after laughter era because it didn't sound like it was from this album's era.

not sure any of these improved on the originals - best was for me was "thick skull" but only because i'd wished that song's epic quality was closer to the 5-6 minute mark.

really excellent song exploder episode about "liar": https://songexploder.net/paramore

hmm, they seem to have deleted all their posts on Twitter/IG and their website is 404'd rn

they posted a while back that they just completed all their label obligations after the last album/tour and that things were uncertain but they’re still a band. prob just starting things over while deciding what to do next

Probably talking out of my ass here, but IIRC they had a 360 deal with Atlantic, so with that getting wrapped up, and the band making it pretty clear they weren't reupping might also play a part.

I saw Maura on PBS Newshour last night talking up this album in her year-end wrap up.

uh that’s literally what I just said

Didn't mean to step on your toes. Was just elaborating because I find the 360 deal aspect interesting.

they're spending 4 months opening for taylor swift next year, they're not even taking a break yet

oh wait this year lol

They just dropped out of a headlining slot at a music festival.

hard times

Seeing a repeated report (from not the greatest source--The Sun) that they're rerecording 'Paramore's Versions ' of their entire catalogue.

They should record an album of Taylor Swift covers and call it "Paramore's Versions of Taylor's Versions." And then Taylor should re-record those, and Paramore *those*, and so on, until it's just a series of hums a la Alvin Lucier.

If true, it's funny that they had a 360 deal that <didn't> have a 'no rerecording' clause.

Looks like they've covered Burning Down The House for a new Talking Heads tribute album

We've got a tape we'd like to play you. 16 tracks from 16 artists. Track 1: Paramore. Coming soon pic.twitter.com/8fM6OLzrkY

— A24 (@A24) January 10, 2024

Talk about trading down...

https://www.stereogum.com/2248326/paramore-cancel-more-festival-appearances-replaced-by-kings-of-leon/news/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrjHhIGl90I

they bodied this

Is that good? But yeah, the cover is good, as far as pretty faithful covers go.

I don't actually know what Record Store Day Ambassadors are, but Paramore are one now.

After a long career in the music industry we have decided to announce that… we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience).

Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores— a vital part of our journey from music obsessed school friends to professional music makers.

With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.

The discovery of music was always meant to be romantic. Indie record shops are some of the only spaces we’ve got that offer a tangible, tactile experience of music discovery.

In this world that feels more disconnected and hostile than ever, it feels important to remain in touch (literally) with what inspires us, empowers us, or simply brings us joy.

Thankfully, for all our sakes, there still survives among the chaos, the purity and radical simplicity of a great record store.

so was that remix album just a quickie to get them out of their deal

RSD Ambassadors work as the "face(s)" of that year's campaign, so they do press, appear in materials (posters, window decals etc.) distributed in advance to participating stores, and usually have one or more RSD exclusives devoted to them.

https://deadline.com/2024/02/paramore-tennessee-house-resolution-grammy-wins-allison-russell-snub-1235829012/

Paramore has announced that they “will not accept any acknowledgement or honor from the TN House” for its Grammy wins after a lawmaker objected to similar honors for singer/songwriter Allison Russell.

The group accuse Tennessee’s Republican-led House of Representatives of “blatant racism” after a lawmaker paused a resolution honoring Black singer-songwriter Russell’s recent Grammy win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-3_3fWC1vg

if you're an emo band that put out an album last year, it's time to release a video for your closing track

great video though, perfectly matches the eeriness of the song

weird coincidence that i watched that just after reading the passage in the History of SST Records book about D. Boon's passing.

a message from hayley, on Discord pic.twitter.com/b8jGj8KsUd

— jen (@YELYAHG00N) March 1, 2024

here's hoping they are making their Ditch Trilogy

I was volunteering somewhere the other day, and one of the younger AmeriCorps employees was playing music, most of which was kind of gently quirky or nondescript emo/indie, none of which I recognized (or at least could identify). Then "This Is Why" came on ... and she walked right over to her phone and skipped it! I was shocked.