I've never really been into much 2000s pop-punk and emo pop, so I never had much interest in checking out Paramore's discography. That changed with 2017's After Laughter, a catchy, fun and emotionally expressive new wave throwback record that got me interested in the band. So when frontwoman Hayley Williams lead single for her debut solo record was channelling some serious Radiohead vibes of all things, I was incredibly intrigued about this album and how it would turn out.
The track, titled Simmer, takes its influence from the groovier, more rhythmic side of late-2000s Radiohead, but places that style within a more pop context. Williams hushed and inflected vocals build to this punchy, staccato chorus with the catchy as anything hook "Simmer simmer simmer down". This is the first track on the record and followed by something equally Radiohead-y in Leave It Alone, but would be far more at home amongst the acoustic ballads of A Moon Shaped Pool. The track is gentle and soothing, yet melancholic and angsty. Track 3, Cinnamon, takes the album in a wildly different direction. The track is built around loud, racketous percussion, whacky vocal manipulations and Hayleys off kilter vocals. Slowly a new-wavey groove is brought into prominence as the track progresses. Initially I didn't like the track, as it felt like it was being weird for the sake of it, but it has really grown on me with it's batshit mentality and off the wall production.
However not every experiment on the record goes this well. The over-emphasised choruses of Creepin' and Sudden Desire come of awkward and irritating, instead of dramatic and attention grabbing. The loud multitracked vocals on Sudden Desired's chorus in particular don't match with the sensual, restrained verses. A lot of the tracks in the middle of the record don't quite land for me. They feel like underwhelming imitations of various styles including: new wave and 80s pop (Dead Horse, Over Yet and Taken), restrained and serene art pop (My Friend, Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris), and wacky experiments (Creepin', Sudden Desire).
However, for the most part Hayley's lyrics and presence on these tracks saves any of them from being particularly mediocre. This record effectively dives into topics such as mental health, femininity and Hayleys's divorce; it provides a real emotional backbone and melancholic yet driven atmosphere to the record. The themes of the record for the most part tie the incredibly disparate and erratic musical ideas of the record together.
The back half of the record does start to pull all these ideas into more compelling songs, starting with the 80s acid house dance track, Sugar On The Rim. The song swaggers about with an infectious groove and sassy, confident vocals. The song is about those unexpected moments of bliss when out partying and is just so glitzy and fun. Following this is Watch Me While I Bloom, a song which sounds somewhere between the off the wall drama of Cinnamon and the more restrained groove of Simmer. The track bounces along with a direction not felt on all of the tracks here. The closer, Crystal Clear, isn't quite as exiting as these two preceding tracks, but it wraps up the album well with its building chords and Hayley's reverby vocals singing "I won't give into the fear".
Aside from a couple of experimental misfires, nothing on this record is particularly bad. It's just feels like it's not quite sure what it wants to be. It has it's hands in so many different styles and genres, but it doesn't feel like they're truly mastered or explored fully on this record. It starts and ends strongly and Hayley's lyrics and perspective are enough of a draw for a few listens, but its erratic and all over the place feel doesn't make me want to really come back to it now I've talked about it here.
Top Tracks: Simmer, Leave It Alone, Cinnamon, Sugar On The Rim, Watch Me While I Bloom
6/10
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