Paramore is the fourth studio album by the Americanrock bandParamore, released on April 5, 2013, throughFueled by Ramen. It was recorded between April and November 2012 and produced byJustin Meldal-Johnsen, with lead guitaristTaylor York co-producing on four tracks. It is the first album without guitaristJosh Farro, the only album without drummerZac Farro, and the final album with bassistJeremy Davis before his departure in 2015.[2]
The band described the album as being a "statement" and a reintroduction of the band to the world and to themselves. In contrast to the band's previous work, the production ofParamore showcases the band's experimentation with new musical genres, such asnew wave andfunk rock, and features three acoustic interludes.
Paramore was acclaimed by music critics, who praised the band's maturity and experimentation in terms of musicianship as well as Williams' vocals and overall presence on the album. Several publications included the album in their year-end lists, includingThe A.V. Club andThe Guardian. It was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the USBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 106,000 copies. The album also topped the charts inArgentina,Australia,Brazil,Ireland, andNew Zealand, where it became their first album to reach the peak. It also became their second chart topper in theUnited Kingdom. In March 2016,Paramore was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales exceeding 1,000,000 units in the United States. The group followed the record release withThe Self-Titled Tour in promotion, with European, North American, Asian, Latin American, and Oceania legs announced. In 2014, the band co-headlinedMonumentour withFall Out Boy. A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 24, 2014, which includes two new tracks, a demo, a re-recorded version of "Hate to See Your Heart Break", and live tracks of songs from their previous albums.
Four singles were released from the album: "Now", "Still Into You", "Daydreaming", and theGrammy-winning song "Ain't It Fun". "Still Into You" and "Ain't It Fun" have reached top ten positions on various charts in the United States and have been certified double platinum by the RIAA, makingParamore the first of the band's albums to have produced more than one double-platinum single.
In November 2022, the band changed the album cover on streaming services to an image of Hayley Williams shot from behind. The denim jacket, worn by Williams, reads "Grow Up", the name ofa song on the album. The change is speculated to be due to legal disputes between the band and former bassist Jeremy Davis.[1] The 10th anniversary vinyl reissue, released in January 2024, uses this cover.[3]
The recording ofParamore began in April 2012 with the song "Daydreaming".[4] After a brief pause, recording resumed on June 27 of that year[5] and ended on November 1, 2012.[6] It is the first Paramore album released after the departure ofJosh andZac Farro, both of whom left the band in 2010.[6][7]
The album was produced byJustin Meldal-Johnsen, longtime bassist forBeck andNine Inch Nails, who has previously produced records forM83 andNeon Trees.[8] In an interview with Electronic Musician, Meldal-Johnsen stated he wanted "the album to sound very visceral and a little bit less locked down and computerized, more 1981 than 2012, with a nod to 2016."[9] In an interview withDigital Spy, Taylor York stated "I don't think we've ever been so proud and satisfied with something we've done."[8] On June 29, 2012, the band had confirmed thatNine Inch Nails andAngels & Airwaves drummerIlan Rubin would be recording drums for the album.[10][11]
In an interview withRolling Stone, lead vocalistHayley Williams explained "That whole time for our band was such a dark season. It was emotionally exhausting, and by the time we got around to the point where we were going to start writing, we just really wanted to enjoy the process of making an album" when asked about the direction of the band afterBrand New Eyes.[12] Regarding the album being self-titled, Williams explained "The self-titled aspect of the whole thing is definitely a statement. I feel like it's not only reintroducing the band to the world, but even to ourselves ... By the end of it, it felt like we're a new band."[13] She also stated that she was inspired byBlondie's andSiouxsie and the Banshees' records when writing the new songs: "They've got so much heart and soul in them."[14]
On December 6, 2012, Paramore revealed the name of the album and the release date, as well as the name of the first single from the album.[15][16] The track list was announced on January 18, 2013, byAlternative Press.[17] During the2013 Soundwave Festival, Paramore held a listening party inSydney,New South Wales on February 26, 2013, followed byMelbourne,Victoria two days later, run by Australian Music Channel, Channel V.[18] Williams revealed a section of the lyrics for the song "Part II" which the winners were able to hear at the listening parties on a LiveJournal post. Williams told fans that "'Let The Flames Begin' has been a favorite of ours to play live, as well as being a favorite of most people who come out to our shows.... We wanted it to have a sequel. 'Part II' it is!"[19]
The vinyl version of the album was streamed beginning on April 1, 2013, for four days, with each day playing one of the four sides.[20] The album was then officially released on April 5, 2013.[21][22] The band played an acoustic version of "Hate to See Your Heart Break" on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on April 3, 2013, announcing that on the same night, the full song would be premiered on their official website.[23] On April 20, 2013, the band released anEP forRecord Store Day, titledThe Holiday Sessions, released exclusively on a 7" vinyl, and is composed of the three interludes from this album.[24][25] A music video for "Anklebiters" was released on June 25, 2013. The song, however, was not released as a single.[26]
The Self-Titled Tour took place from October 15 to November 27, 2013. The Self-Titled Tour took the band through 27 cities across North America, including their first headline show atMadison Square Garden.[27][28] On August 22, 2013, the band announced their own cruise, called the "PARAHOY! Cruise", sailing fromMiami tothe Bahamas and back on board theNorwegian Pearl, which took place from March 7 to March 11, 2014.[29][30] On January 9, 2014, the band, along withFall Out Boy, announced a co-headlining North American tour dubbed, "Monumentour", which took place from June 19 to August 31, 2014.[31] On January 22, 2015, Paramore announced "Writing The Future", a round of small shows across the United States, closing out theParamore touring cycle. It lasted from April 27 to May 25, 2015.[32]
A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 24, 2014.[33] The deluxe edition includes a new version of "Hate To See Your Heart Break" featuringJoy Williams, Paramore's first collaboration.[33]
On January 5, 2013, Paramore released a teaser of thelead single "Now", revealing a snippet of the song and the release date of the single, which was January 22, 2013.[34][35] Paramore streamed the song on their website on January 21, and the song was then made available for sale along with an albumpre-order throughiTunes the next day. In the UK, "Now" was instead released January 24, 2013. The music video for "Now" was directed by Daniel "Cloud" Campos and premiered live onMTV on February 11.[36][37]
The album's second single, "Still Into You", was released on March 14, 2013.[38][39] A lyric video for "Still Into You" was uploaded to YouTube a day earlier, after the band performed it live for the first time at the 2013South by Southwest festival inAustin, Texas.[40][41] On September 18, 2013, "Still Into You" was certified platinum by theRIAA.[42] "Daydreaming" serves as the third single from the album. It was released on December 2, 2013.[43] The music video premiered on November 5 in the UKMSN.[44][45][46]
"Ain't It Fun" is the fourth single from the album,[47][48][49] and was released on February 4, 2014.[50] A music video for the song was planned, but was put on hold in favor of a music video for "Daydreaming", also, as informed by Williams, the band was unhappy with how the video turned out.[51] A new video for "Ain't It Fun" was filmed and premiered on January 29, 2014.[52] "Ain't It Fun" won the award forBest Rock Song at the57th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the band's first Grammy win.[48][53][54] On June 18, 2014, "Ain't It Fun" was certified platinum by the RIAA and then,[55] on July 8, 2015, double platinum.[56] Shortly after, "Still Into You" received double platinum certification as well from the RIAA.[57]
Though not released as a single, the band released a music video for "Anklebiters" on June 26, 2013.[58][59][60] Soon after, the band released a free to play video game similar toPac-Man that is based on the "Anklebiters" video.[60]
The album consists of three interludes (Moving On, I'm Not Angry Anymore & Holiday). They all have raw vocals delivered byHayley Williams and only have a simple ukulele in the background.[66]
According to Patrick Bowman atIdolator, the album features the samealternative rock andpop-punk sound of Paramore's previous albums.[67] Ben Rayner of theToronto Star stated the band abandoned theemo genre in favor ofpower pop.[68] Josh Bell ofLas Vegas Weekly called the album a "collection of catchy, energeticpop-rock songs".[69] AtEntertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson characterized it as a "Blondie-indebted 21st-centurynew-wave album".[70] Matt Collar ofAllMusic condisers this album to be a move towards "a multi-layered '80ssynth-pop sound."[71] According to Justin Cober-Lake ofPopMatters, "[the album has] touches of new wave, pop-punk,funk, alt-rock,pop, balladry, and even a series of ukelele interludes."[72]PopMatters also noted that the album "careens between edgyhard rock (“Fast in My Car”, “Now”, “Anklebiters”), ‘80sR&B (“Ain't It Fun”), power pop (“Daydreaming”), tender balladry (“Hate to See Your Heart Break”), and lavish Spector-esque melodrama (“(One of Those) Crazy Girls”)."[73]
Upon its release,Paramore was acclaimed by music critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 81, based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[75] Matt Collar, writing forAllMusic, declared "The record's collaborative foundation crackles on every track, but Hayley Williams, a ballsy, extroverted frontwoman with a voice big enough to stop time, proves unequivocally to be the cunning talent of the band, no matter how vital York and Davis may be". Collar regards it their best album.[76] Scott Heisel ofAlternative Press praised the diversity of the album, calling the album "a sprawling, 17-song, 64-minute monster", and regarded it as the best music Paramore have ever created.[77]Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson gave the album an A−, where he stated "Paramore are making evolutionary leaps into something both refreshingly well-adjusted and genuinely new", and highlighted "Ain't It Fun" and "Proof" as the album's best tracks.[70] TheUSA Today writerBrian Mansfield found that on the album the band "has super-sized its sound". Mansfield also commented that "Williams' sarcasm seems less forced than her enthusiasm, still,Paramore shows a band determined to get out of the misery business."[84]
AtAbsolutePunk, Jack Appleby said "Instead of pursuing all things epic or intentionally moving to a specific sound, the band had a blast pursuing every genre under the sun, creating a damn good album in the process ... Chances are you won't dedicate undivided attention to Paramore, but you'll regularly queue the whole record." He concluded with that the album isn't for everyone, but has something that anyone could enjoy.[85]
Rebecca Nicholson ofThe Guardian regarded the album as a pay off, despite the band "switching it up", where she states "...this is more loose and playful, while still indulging the band's ability to pull off mammoth, arena-friendly choruses." She regarded the album a little too long, however.[79] David Renshaw atNME observed "...this mainstream rebirth feels like a transitional step to something gigantic."[80] Jon Pareles fromThe New York Times found that the band's songwriting survived the departure of Josh Farro. In addition, Pareles noted that they "have pushed the band beyond pop-punk without abandoning momentum or the big, catchy chorus."[86]
By contrast, Sputnikmusic's staff reviewer Channing Freeman was highly critical of the album, giving it a one and a half out of five as well as calling it, "fucking foolishness". Freeman criticized the exclusion of J. Farro and the songwriting, stating "I guess the sad conclusion here is that Paramore needs Josh Farro, who maybe could have tempered all of the crazy fucking songwriting decisions that were made onParamore."[87]
The album has been a major commercial success worldwide, debuting at number one in eight countries including the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia (where it was the eighth consecutive number one debut on the chart and also the 32nd self-titled album to top the Australian chart).[98] The album also peaked within the top 20 of 9 other countries. In the US, the album debuted at number one on theBillboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 106,000 copies. This marks the first Paramore album to reach the top spot on the chart.[99]
"Still Into You" charted within the top 10 in Australia and Ireland and reached the top 20 in several others. The single topped the UK rock chart and peaked at number 14 in the singles chart, thus becoming the band's second highest-charting single in that country, behind "Ignorance" from the band's previous albumBrand New Eyes.[100] In the US, the song peaked at number 24,[101] matching "The Only Exception" from the same album as the band's highest-charting single at the time. It also peaked at number 6 in the US Rock Chart and number 8 in the US Mainstream Top 40.[102] "Ain't It Fun" shared similar success, charting within the top 10 in Canada and Hungary.[103][104] It eventually became Paramore's best selling single to date in the US, charting at number ten in the Billboard 100,[105] number 2 in the US Mainstream Top 40,[102] and number 1 the US Rock Chart and Adult Top 40.[106][107] The single marks the first time a Paramore song has reached the Top 10 in the US.[108]
^Micallef, Ken (August 21, 2012)."Justin Meldal-Johnsen".Electronic Musician. Archived fromthe original on January 16, 2013. RetrievedDecember 6, 2012.
^From 2022 onwards, digital streaming versions and physical re-issues of both the standard and deluxe editions of the album had their cover changed to an image of Williams from behind. It has been speculated that the album art was changed to remove Jeremy Davis, pictured left in the original image, who had had a falling out with the other members of the band, at one point being involved in a lawsuit against them.[1]
[76]
[79]
