Paramore — This Is Why: A Millenial Post-Punk Masterclass
After a six-year hiatus, Paramore has returned with a new record, This Is Why — a post-punk masterclass laced with a lyrical prowess that feels like 2007 breakthrough Riot’s coming-of-age moment.
On the front half of the record, lead singer Hayley Williams somewhat forgoes using the full force of her four-octave vocal range to express frustration with the modern age, often belting or sing-speaking over Taylor York’s punchy guitar riffs and Zac Farro’s soaring drum beats that feel like a complete sonic shift from 2017’s After Laughter and, to some extent, their own signature sound that skyrocketed them to the forefront of the 2000s emo movement.
Sonically, side A’s “This Is Why” and “C’est Comme Ca” combine the experimental elements of Williams’ solo work (notably “Sugar On The Rim” from Petals For Armor) and new-wave cornerstones of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” with the ferocity and dancefloor anthem-esque beats of Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out” and “Do You Want To,” intersecting rock and dance like their many pop-punk and rock forefathers.
Their single “The News” addresses common complaints of those born into the internet age, their newfound realization about doom scrolling, and the ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ nature of the 24-hour cycle:
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 newsFar, I’m far, so far from the front line
Quite the opposite, I’m safe inside
But I worry and I give money and I feel useless behind this computer
And that’s just barely scratched the surface of my mind
On the flip side, side B standouts “You First” and “Thick Skull” sound quintessentially Paramore, with Williams’ signature soprano overlaying instrumentals that hark back to the raw, despondent yet urgent oeuvre of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm (2005), White Lies’ To Lose My Life (2009) and Kasabian’s West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009).
Williams actually cited Bloc Party as one of the main inspiration’s for the record, stating in an NME interview that Paramore, “found ourselves [sic] listening to a lot of older music that we grew up being inspired by…from day one, Bloc Party was the number one reference because there was such an urgency to their sound that was different to the fast punk or the pop-punk or the like, loud wall of sound emo bands that were happening in the early 2000s.”
Lyrically, This Is Why feels like a maturation of pop punk’s traditional subject matter; rather than the hatred for hometown or feeling externally misunderstood, the angst driving this record comes from within, attempting to understand yourself and navigating adulthood.
“You First” details the inner turmoil that comes with growing older and addressing your shortcomings while still feeling a bit of imposter syndrome as it’s impossible to shed parts of your former self completely:
Which wolf wins?
I guess it really depends, just gotta wait and see
Which one’s appеtite’s the biggest?
Turns out I’m livin’ in a horror film
Whеre I’m both the killer and the final girl
So, who, who are you?Everyone is a bad guy
And there’s no way, no way to know
Who’s the worst
Karma’s gonna come for all of us
And I hope, well, I hope, I just hope
That she comes, comes for you first, oh
The album arrives amid a new wave of emo/pop punk, with rising stars like Inhaler, YUNGBLUD, and The Backstreet Lovers and early 2000s powerhouses like Fall Out Boy, The Killers, The Strokes and even My Chemical Romance (may death never stop them) ALL releasing music in the past two years.
What a time to be alive. My early teenage self (and surely others) is fist-pumping and moshing through the time continuum right now.
LISTEN to This Is Why HERE:
Writer’s note: Thank you to all the writers and editors at The Riff for all of your wonderful and insightful work. While you’re here, check out Kevin Alexander, Terry Barr, Lainey Powers, J.P. Williams, If You’re Ever Listening, Alexander Razin, Mic Check Newsletter, Anthony Overs, Pierce McIntyre, and Chris Zappa.
