Paramore - This Is Why
Pop Punk – February 10, 2023 – 10 songs, 36 mins
REID
Just back from a vacation to Mexico, I am refreshed and ready to tackle new music. This week’s instalment is the latest from pop punk pioneers, Paramore. Six years since their previous record, they return with their sixth studio release, This Is Why. Hence providing me the opportunity to dig into the ‘I’ve been meaning to listen to…’ category for the first time in a while. I can’t comment on their past work other than universally-loved smash single, Misery Business. You know it has legs when you still hear it 16+ years later. While we’re on the topic, check out Lundi’s thoughts on Riot! (2007).
Let’s see if the genre veterans still got it in 2023.
It doesn’t take long to conclude Hayley Williams is the unmistakable star of the band. That statement has pros and cons. Her lyrics are clever and topical. I’ll touch on that a little more later. Her vocal delivery has real variety and is gripping. Whether she’s excelling as the punk princess or as the quiet and beautiful version in Liar; she is worth the price of admission on her own. On the flip side, the album has a rather pedestrian effort from the instrumental and composition end. Taylor York and Zac Farro seem content to serve it up for HW. As a lover of live music, I’m convinced I’d be showing up to see The Hayley Williams band. Likely a fun experience anyway but how much better could it be? To explain it in the most Reido-fashion ever, This Is Why reminds me of the Klinghoffer years of RHCP. You’re left wanting a little more.
Validated by singles This Is Why, The News and Running Out of Time, the front half of the record screams ‘mainstream’. The second half is preferred with You First, Figure 8 and Thick Skull as favourites.
Unlike our last review, I can relate to much of the album’s subject matter. Hair colour isn’t the only thing I share with Hayley. We were both born in 1988 and will be 35 this year. Social anxiety (This Is Why), news cycle exhaustion (The News), an overwhelming schedule (Running Out of Time) and a slowly dwindling social life (C’est Comme Ca) are all very real. And You First is a much better karma song than T-Swift’s, eh Roz? One particular lyric I find interesting is ‘You’re either with us or, you can keep it, to yourself.’ from the titular track. Nowadays people choose a side and are loyal, oftentimes to a fault. They are close-minded on differing opinions and sit in their social media echo chambers, with algorithms designed to focus on reinforcing those exact ideas. The solution typically ends up somewhere in between and we must be diligent to avoid the systems in place promoting division and stick to the facts. It’s a problem today and it will get worse before it gets better. It’s unknown if it’s the point HW intended to make but I love how she worked it in regardless.
On a final note, I’d like to acknowledge Paramore’s influence on the genre. They were a true sensation in the late 2000’s and an inspiration to many, particularly Williams. The bad news? Those same youth are taking the baton and elevating. TSR has covered several of them. Paramore trained their replacements. They will have to keep showing they’re worth keeping on the payroll.
Paramore play to their strengths on This Is Why with Hayley Williams elevating an otherwise skippable record to one worth your time. In the big picture, youth inspired by HW continue to enter the scene and push the envelope. Avoiding the dreaded ‘nostalgia act’ label may be their biggest challenge moving forward.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Song: You First
LUNDI
Everyone loves a comeback story and TSR is no different. This week we’re turning back the clock to a band that held its major relevancy in the late 2000’s but is suddenly at the forefront of the pop punk revival. The band is no other than Paramore, a millennial staple, with their sixth studio album This Is Why. The hype was lofty, did they hit the mark?
While Saved By The Bell’s Kelly Kapowski was the first crush of mine, Hayley Williams is the most significant pop culture female of my memory. She simply shaped my music tastes with her vocals and attitude. It’s no secret, or shouldn’t be, that female lead music is where I gravitate. Just look at 2022’s best albums, five for five female vocalists. And that is all rooted in the long time love for Williams, a love that remains today. While I’m not surprised, This Is Why is carried by her musical prowess. She doesn’t disappoint and even exceeds expectations on the album with her vocals sounding as great as ever and her song writing more focused and true. While Riot! and All We Know Is Falling have a special place due to their timing in my life, This Is Why might be the best version of Hayley Williams. She progresses through some important societal topics across the record and brings a mature, focused energy pointing the finger directly at the tragic state of the world. Topped with bone chillingly beautiful vocals it’s the Hayley Williams show no doubt.
Taylor York and Zac Farro unfortunately didn’t get the memo on elevating their game and making this album the best entry in the Paramore catalogue. Aside from the 1-2 punch out of the gate, This Is Why and The News, the band sound flat and ultimately underwhelm. A constant rotation of band members over 10 years will definitely affect chemistry but the musical composition on This Is Why lacks any inspiration. While Williams shows personal growth, her bandmates fade further to the background and seem to be just happy to be along for the ride. Whether it was a desire to climb the billboard charts, top festival lineups, or simply attract a new masses of fans, This Is Why has zero edge. It’s a dull knife in need of sharpening. A mature sound, sure, but this is as radio friendly as anything deemed punk can be. It’s not to say the drumming and guitar work is bad but it’s simple progression after simple progression. Tight but after six years on the sidelines you’re left wanting more.
The root cause of the lacklustre feeling ultimately comes down to producer Carlos de La Garza. Aside from layering a keyboard on Figure 8 he failed to have any real impact here at all. It’s an album that feels mixed direct from the studio takes with zero creative finger prints added. The great producers steer bands in the right direction. Garza stood by and watched. After handling the last four Hayley Williams projects, there’s a desperate need for a fresh voice if the band wants to make more music. The overall encompassing message from repeated listens of This Is Why is that Paramore certainly still have it. The pieces are there but I think the doctor is ordering a new producer and a deep look in the mirror before album seven.
Hayley Williams shines as always on This Is Why but the band lack the musical bite that made them. It’s a spirited effort that should be celebrated as a return to prominence but with great potential comes great expectation and the total product falls short. C'est comme ça, or for the French impaired, That's just the way it is.
Overall Rating: 7.4/10
Favourite Song: This Is Why
ROZ
Ah, Paramore. There’s a comfortability and an excitement that comes with the familiarity of an artist you’ve followed for many years releasing an album after a long hiatus. The three-piece punk rock band strap on their guitars and pick up their drumsticks once again to appease their fans and do what I believe to be the most rewarding thing one can do, which is making art for people to enjoy. I place my headphones upon my head and, with that, start my thirty six minute journey. Two hundred and eighty eight minutes later (not in a row so please do not worry for me) the headphones are off and I find myself with a problem.
The problem is this: This Is Why is an on the nose, tried and true punk rock album. It’s a very solid experience, but herein lies the problem. When the best an album gives you is “solid”, then that denotes something that has hit its ceiling far too soon. I’ve come across many albums in this genre throughout the past 80+ albums here at Too Sweet Reviews, going through wave after wave of very unique, eyebrow raising, dare-taking content. Hayley and co.’s latest outing - not to mention one that is after a six year layoff - leaves a little more to be desired.
Apart from the radio ready This Is Why, the ear-grabbing Figure 8 or my personal favorite in You First, a lot of the songs on this track list seem to blend in and out of each other without giving me the emotional response that I crave during these exercises. What I will do is gush about the latter, as You First gave me that bolt of lightning upwards through my spine and into my brain, giving me that surge of serotonin that I so deeply needed.
Paramore’s latest outing after a long hiatus makes for an enjoyable listen but fails to break the mold or push the limits of the genre that they have comfortably made their place in for almost 20 years. That being said - it is enjoyable.
Overall Rating: 7.2/10
Favourite Song: You First