Paramore: don't be deceived by Hayley's whiter-than-whiteness... she's a devil really

Welcome to our second track-by-track feature, the first being one on Imogen Heap’s incredible new album Ellipse, in which we preview one of the biggest – and what we often view as the best – records to come out soon. This month it’s Paramore’s new release brand new eyes, the Tennessean quintet’s third album on fueled by ramen / Atlantic Records, which drops on 28th September.

Here’s a spoiler: we listened to the album earlier this month and, from one quick run-through, are able to tell you this much about it: it’s bloomin’ marvellous, a really mature and, dare we say it, heavy album. Those that love their first two records won’t be disappointed by the instantaneous driven hooks and vocalist Hayley Williams’ power to get stuck in your head for days. But it seems she’s got much more to bite back about. Enough of our wittering on, here’s the run down, track-by-track.

***DISCLAIMER: I only got to listen to the album once, so some lyrics may be slightly incorrect, but I did my best to get the good ones down. Thanks!***

1 ‘Careful’ – This is a far-reaching opener, Hayley opens her mouth and the world comes out: “You look like I did/ you resist me just like this / you can’t tell me to heal”.  Ouch! Girl got angry in a year… “the truth never set me free (x3) so I’ll do it myself” – “can’t be too careful anymore when all that is waiting for you won’t come any closer you’ve got to reach out mo-o-ore”. It’s so aggressive, you almost feel a bit afraid of this young, tiny girl.

2. ‘Ignorance’ – we all know this one, it’s the first single. An instant hit and probably the biggest-sounding song on the record, the band have told us this is about a time they were arguing and Hayley felt like a stranger to the boys, like they didn’t know each other. It’s pretty cool that she felt she could speak out to them through her words in this song – “you treat me just like another stranger / well it’s nice to know you sir, I guess I’ll go / I best be on my way out”.

3. ‘Playing God’ - a slow-starter. “can’t make my own decisions/make any with precision/well maybe you should tear me up/so I don’t go where you don’t want me” / “you say that I’ve been changing that I’m not just simply aging well how can that be logical you’re just cramming ideas down my throat”. Another angry song from Hayley, Josh, Zac, Jeremy and Taylor? But of course – “next time you point a finger I might have to bend it back or break it, break it off / next time you point a finger I’ll point you to the mirror”. These lyrics are very cutting but intelligently written; despite the obvious negativity surrounding the subject, whatever that is, Williams has honed her songwriting skills and created something with depth from them. This ain’t your average ’shut up I’m talking now’ Avril Lavigne song. “You don’t deserve a point of view if the only thing you see is you”, she tells us. Something says this will be a fan favourite.

4. ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ – this track has also been leaked online and is suspected as the second single. It’s strong but takes a few listens, and the slightly irritating “bada-ba-bada-ba-ba-ba”’s in the middle and at the end make us want to turn it before it finishes. Intriguing subject though – “it’s all about the exposure, the lens I told her / the angles were all wrong, now she’s ripping wings off of butterflies”.

5. ‘Turn It Off’ – The first in a couple of tracks that seem as though they relate to religion and the band’s, or Hayley’s, struggle to keep faithful when going through a hard time – “I scraped my knees while I was playing and found a demon in my safest haven / seems it’s getting harder to believe in anything just to get lost in all my selfish thoughts”, “and the worst part is before it gets any better we’re heading for a cliff / in the freefall I will realise I’m better off when I hit the bottom”, “we’re working towards a goal that’s non-existent, it’s not existent but we just keep believing”. It’s a cute song but, however intentional, the beat is lost in the words.

Paramore – Ignorance (Radio One Live Lounge)

6. ‘The Only Exception‘ – This is the only song that’s still in my head, three weeks on from hearing it (once). It’s a ballad, of course, probably related to Hayley’s love life, but we’re not one to pry… also references parents breaking up. “when I was younger I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind / that was the day that I promised I’d never sing of love if it does not exist but darlin’ you are the only exception (x4)”. Very slow, but uplifting, keys and smatterings of a tambourine. “up until now I swore to myself I was content with lonliness because none of it was ever worth the risk”. Female backing vocals make it stand out more towards the end.

7. ‘Feeling Sorry’ – here we go with upbeat guitar riffs, tearing through the two previous slowies: “your days are numbered at 24 / I’m getting bored waiting around for you”.  Another break up song? How many boyfriends has this girl had? It’s punchy but there’s something missing. “there’s no need to apologise I’ve got no time for feeling sorry”, by the close it begins to sound conflicted, like she wants to believe… “fingers tied.. won’t you promise me..”. Again, very angry, but not a bad thing.

8. ‘Looking Up’ – At first it seems like this is about friendship - “things are looking up finally, I thought I’d never see the day when you smile at me. Things always pull through when we try, I’m always wrong but you’re never right”. “I’d never trade it in cuz I’ve always wanted this / it’s not a dream anymore it’s worth fighting for”. But then it becomes evident it’s about success – “god knows the world doesn’t need another band but what a waste it would’ve been”, “honestly can you believe we crossed the world when you were asleep … / it’s not a dream anymore (x a lot) it’s worth fighting for”. It’s a good trademark Paramore track, lots of riffs and tame ferociousness, no anger here, more hope: “can’t believe we almost hung (?) it up / we’re just getting started”.

9. ‘Where The Lines Overlap’ – No idea what this one’s about, but it’s entertaining all the same: “no-one is as lucky as us but not at the end, but we already won / call me over and tell me how you got so far in never making a single sound”. Is it about journalists? Very, very catchy and simple lyrics, guitars that chug happily away before growling into huge memorable riffs. It sounds like their new song to play live – “I’ve got a feeling if I sang this loud enough you would sing it back to me”; perhaps not a fight more a call for critics or fans or other bands to join them.

10. ‘Misguided Ghosts’ – Another pretty slow one here, led by acoustic guitar. “I’m still trying to find my place but it might not be here where I feel safe”. “We’ll run from them with no direction / from them with no direction”. Hayley tones it down a lot, her voice sounds so delicate, it’s uplifting.  “You are not useless we are just misguided ghosts, travelling endlessly / the ones we trusted the most pushed us far away”.

11. ‘All I Wanted’ – really doing well on the slow songs here! Hayley’s voice is softer than it’s ever been. “All I wanted was you…” quickly turns into a huge tumbling track of layered guitars. It’s repeated a lot through the song; in fact it is the entire chorus. “I could follow you to the beginning just to relive the start, maybe then we’d remember to slow down at all of our favourite parts”. Fuzzy guitars play out the end of the track and, for Americans, what is the end of the album. But we Euros get…

12. ‘Decode’ - Ah, the Twilight song, If ya haven’t heard this yet where were you Christmas-time last year? The band owe a lot to this song, of course it’s a well-crafted pop track, a belter some might say, but its prominence on the film’s soundtrack gained the group a new legion of fans – fans that are hopefully reading this. If you like ‘Decode’, you’ll probably like brand new eyes. But don’t go expecting big love songs, because Hayley Williams is pretty angry this time.

brand new eyes is released on 28th September via fueled by ramen / Atlantic Records

By Cathy Reay