Paramore – ‘Paramore’

The trio trade in emo for pop, but is it worth is?

“Some of us have to grow up sometimes/If I have to I’m going to leave you behind”, sings Hayley Williams on ‘Grow Up’. The line is presumably aimed at Josh and Zac Farro, her former bandmates who quit the group in less than friendly terms in 2010, but it also signals a change in Paramore’s sound. Long favoured by door-slamming, angled-fringe emo kids, the Tennessee band have decided with this self-titled fourth album on a shinier and poppier direction. The brothers Farro claimed Paramore was purely a vehicle for 24-year-old Williams, and songs such as ‘Fast In My Car’ and ‘Still Into You’, which are all about their bright-haired leader, do little to prove them wrong. Things get a bit Sister Act 2 on ‘Ain’t It Fun’, which features a gospel choir, and for some reason ‘Moving On’ introduces a ukulele into proceedings. But Paramore have always been more pop than their fans may like to admit, and this mainstream rebirth feels like a transitional step to something gigantic.

David Renshaw

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