There were no immediate plans to do this review. When it’s a band like Paramore, you’re only looking at the big guys for their thoughts anyways; Alternative Press, Absolute Punk and not an AP, but also Rolling Stone. But with something bugging the shit out of me this morning, I decided the only way to release that negative tension was to review Paramore in a way that seemed most appropriate; not so much a review, but a note. I’ve had a lot of ups with this band and just as many downs, and because Paramore writes with such a personal insight to their lives, the following had to be just as so.
Dear Paramore,
We won’t go back to the beginning when we first met because we both know your first album made almost everyone fall in love, and if they hadn’t realized your potential, then it was Riot! that finally got them by your side. Let’s get to the Brand New Eyes chapter. That album was stellar in almost every way, but the drama that later surrounded the band made it seem like a dismal note in my iTunes. Then that song from Twilight was it. Not because it was for a horrendous film, but because I literally hated how it sounded. I had had enough and was done.
Fast forward to last year and you playing in Pomona. I think our time apart did us both some good because even from the furthest point from the stage, I enjoyed almost every minute of that show as if I were right up front. This of course excludes “Decode.” So it was safe to say we had rekindled our love, and every minute waiting for the new album was another one wasted. If “Now” and “Still Into You” were what was in store, I had no doubt about the rest.
Then finally, it was here over a span of four days. Each side better than the last, each side proving that you still had it in you, and were able to create an album where each song had a personality. Let’s talk about those initial singles first though. “Now” reminded me of what Taking Back Sunday did with “El Paso” on their self-titled. It was a smack in the face to wake anyone who’d taken a break, me included. Then “Still Into You,” I’m still convinced this is a B-side of Katy Perry’s One Of The Boys. This is not a bad thing at all; it encased a 90’s pop feel without getting too cheesy and turning into an S Club 7 song.
Sticking with that 90’s theme, I thought “Ain’t It Fun,” could’ve been stripped right from the Pretty Woman soundtrack. As someone who refers to that decade as the last great one of pop culture, I appreciate it wholeheartedly. Then there’s “Last Hope,” oh, how I am waiting for the countless YouTube covers of this one that are on the horizon…This one’s emotions run high, so it’s of course going to be a fan favorite. I didn’t expect to like “(One of Those) Crazy Girls” as much as I did, but I can’t help but laugh and dedicate it to every super delusional girl I’ve ever met. I do hope that it was those girls who inspired this song. You know the ones who swear they’ll marry the dude in the band.
Those were the ones I think stick out but aren’t my personal picks. These next three are the ones I wish I’d written, and contain an insane amount of lines I want permanently marked on my skin. As I said earlier this week, it’s entirely normal to want every great lyric tattooed, right?
Anyways, “Daydreaming” is the song I wish I’d written on one of those nights when I felt that nothing was ever going to make sense in my life; it gives the idea of hope a soundtrack. “Anklebiters” is the song I wish I’d written for every friend who sits insecure about their selves because that shit’s annoying. Seriously, as this song says, “…fall in love with yourself.” Now for “Grow Up.” I’ll try to write this without getting too Boy Meets World with it. After college I moved out with very little and no job, and said a final farewell to my hometown. If that meant I was being an adult, then so be it. Today I am so many steps closer to my dream being a reality that I guess you’re right “Some of us have to grow up sometimes.”
Again, each song sits as its own, but all of them come together to create a cohesive album that deals with being doubted, rising above your critics, dreaming the impossible dream, crazy bitches , love and everything else you deal with in life.
Thanks for an album to appreciate,
Kendra
If you’ve read this far, then kudos to you and remember Paramore is out April 9th on Fueled by Ramen.
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