In the year 2023 of our lord satan, we have a series of bands from our childhood and teenage years making a comeback. First My Chemical Romance then Parmaore and most recently Linkin Park. Only one of them has made the brave step to releasing a full-length album.
Paramore has officially released their 6th studio album after a six-year hiatus. It’s called “This Is Why” and it’s got a little bit of everything. This album I have been awaiting impatiently since the album title’s track This Is Why was released last year. My reasoning at the time was the song sounded like something I would have listened to even without it being Paramore. So when it dropped this morning I had to do an album review.
This Is Why
The first track is the aforementioned This is Why. A 70’s funk that aggressively grows throughout the song. The riff and chorus are earworms that will spend the rest of the afternoon tickling your brain.
The News
Was a single they released and it’s probably the closest to an original Parmaore sound that you are going to get. Part of what has always separated Parmaore from other bands is their drumming. This album welcomes back the original drummer Zac Farro who for my money is one of the best Rock drummers of the past 30 years. With all respect to Dave Ghrol and Chad Smith, this man can smack the skins. This song has that leading drum sound that made Paramore famous in the late 2000s.
Your First
The first track on the album that wasn’t a single that caught my attention. A rather dancy guitar riff that almost sounds like it could have been from John Frusciante leads the track and allows Hayley Williams to vocally play in and out of it. This song has incredible energy to it. Dipping in and out of quiet parts while turning into a driving rock chorus. Really dig this track.
Figure 8
No, your alarm isn’t going off, but thanks for the PTSD Paramore. With the beginning maybe being disjointed and segmented the first chorus reveals what the song is. A new school Parmaore driving verses with old school pop punk chorus. Complete with gang vocals in the bridge this is maybe my favorite vocal performance from Hayley on the album. I think this track has the most potential to grow on me.
Crave
This track is a grower. For me, this song is a little slower so naturally, that takes time for me to like it. I think ultimately Hayley really gets to show her range on this song. Any time Hayley is allowed to just let it fly that is when Parmaore is at its best. Particularly in the last minute of the song Hayley hits that chill-inducing note that has made her famous. It’s really a kin to the song All I Wanted.
All and all it’s a solid album and at this point anytime a band can produce new music that prolongs their career I’m happy. So consider me over the moon with this offering. We get some taste of the things that made us fall in love with this band almost twenty years ago. We purchased this album on vinyl so I’m sure it will be getting regular rotation.
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