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Music is a medium that has evolved since the beginning of time; in the eighteenth century “baroque,” or classical music led by composers like George Frideric Handel and Joseph Haydn, dominated the music scene. Fast forward two centuries or so, and Cyndi Lauper‘s high-energy pop songs were what moved people to their feet. Music changes over time by following popular trends, but this change does not just happen on grand scales with diverse genres and sounds across decades.
In fact, the evolution of sound happens to artists across the board, shifting from what they initially promoted into something new. Paramore is a notable example of a band that has gone through an evolution with a distinct past and present. Since the band was first formed in 2004, Paramore has gone through more than a few changes. Throughout the years, they have experienced a gradual shift from being the pop punk, emo, rock band they started off as in their debut album “All We Know Is Falling,” which many came to love circa the early 2000s to late 2010s, into a new sound with their fourth studio album “Paramore” that transcends that.
Who Is Paramore?
Founded by lead vocalist Hayley Williams, ex-guitarist Josh Farro, drummer Zac Farro, and ex-bassist Jeremy Davis, Paramore emerged into the rock music scene in 2004 in the small town of Franklin, Tennessee. The members were all musicians who had felt more seriously about the prospect of starting a band and making it big in a way other kids their age did not. They were passionate, which is why Paramore came into existence.
At the time of the band’s formation, both Zac and Williams were only pre-teens, leaving Davis skeptical that they would be able to make it far. It only took hearing Zac, who was twelve years old, play for him to decide the band was a risk he was willing to take. Davis told “Biography Today” that he remembers thinking before he heard Zac play, “this is not going to work because [Zac] is way too young.” (( “Profile Of People of Interest To Young Readers.” Biography Today. 2010. )) It did work, and Paramore later signed with Atlantic Records and Warner Music Groups rock orientated label, Fueled By Ramen, in 2005.
Before forming Paramore, Williams was already signed with Atlantic Records, who had plans of turning her into a solo pop artist. She refused, saying that she wanted to play alternative rock music. Their first song “Conspiracy,” was the first of their many alternative songs to come.
“All We Know Is Falling” (2005)
In 2005, Paramore released their debut studio album, “All We Know Is Falling.” It is characterized as pop-punk, a genre that mixes pop music with the loud, fast-moving rock subgenre popularized in the 1970s-80s. It was before this first album that Paramore endured their first big change: Jeremy Davis had left the band, leaving them not only hurt and upset that their friend had left them, but that they were also without a proper bassist.
The feelings Davis’ departure created were what ended up fueling “All We Know Is Falling.” The band felt abandoned. They had just collectively decided to leave their hometown and chase their dreams together when their close friend called it quits. The first track for the album, “All We Know,” was written just days after Davis left. Williams starts off the song by singing,
“We’ve tried so hard to understand, but we can’t…”
Paramore, “All We Know” (( Paramore. “All We Know.” All We Know Is Falling, Fueled By Ramen. YouTube. 2006. ))
— explaining how despite all the thinking they have done, they simply cannot understand why Davis would leave right when things were going to get good for them.
The Chorus: “All We Know”
The chorus of the song goes into how deeply it impacts the band on a more personal level with the words, “all we know is falling, it falls.”
The band had started their careers so young that the only thing they know is music and playing music with each other, so when Davis left it felt like what they knew best was slowly beginning to crumble. The whole song continues in a similar fashion expressing the group’s confusion. However, even though they feel as if their dreams are beginning to crumble, they do not lose hope and say that while they can return home with Davis, they will not.
In an interview with The Trades, Williams explains how even the art of the album was influenced by how Davis leaving made them feel: “The couch with no one there and the shadow walking away; it’s all about Jeremy leaving us and us feeling like there’s an empty space.” (( “Hayley Williams And Josh Farro Of Paramore.” The Trades. 2005. )) The rest of the album feels like new artists trying to come into their own. “Pressure,” is about both the pressures of being a teenager and Davis’ departure while “Franklin” is an ode to their hometown that they had left.
The lyrics:
“This place we live, it is not where we belong and I miss who we were and the town that we could call our own…”
Paramore, “Pressure” (( Paramore. “Pressure.” All We Know Is Falling, Fueled By Ramen. YouTube. 2006. ))
— continues with that theme expressing how the band has felt they can no longer return home because now that they have experienced the life of a musician, their home is not Franklin, Tennessee anymore.
The album has a more nostalgic, softer sound that quickly changes with the start of their next full-length album, “Riot!”
Paramore Evolves From Their Roots: “Riot!” (2007)
While their first album took a softer approach to the pop-punk genre, in the next one, the band went all out mixing in heavier vocals, a more intense raw sound with an even heavier look while still maintaining that hint of pop music.
With the new album came another loss as Hunter Lamb, who had been brought into the band as their rhythm guitarist after Jason Brynum left, also exited the band. However, Lamb’s departure brought on current Paramore member, guitarist Taylor York, who started off playing tours with them and Davis’ return. The change in member line-up only aided in what would be Paramore’s most popular album at the time.
The Success Of “Riot!”
Released in 2007, the album “Riot!” brought the band more success than they thought possible. The group was voted Alternative Press Magazine’s “Best Band of 2007” and was nominated for the “Best New Artist” for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. The recognition only increased from there with two songs off the album, “I Caught Myself,” and “Decode,” being featured on the novel-based film, and wildly popular, Twilight. Their other songs “Misery Business,” “Crushcrushcrush,” and “That’s What You Get,” went 3x platinum in the United States and certified platinum in the United Kingdom.
Williams explains in the album description that the title of the album “Riot!” means “an unbridled outburst of emotions.” She continues, “When we were writing it seemed like our thoughts and emotions were coming out so fast that we couldn’t control them. It felt like there was a riot within us. So the album takes our passion to a new level; it’s just all raw energy.” (( “Paramore – Riot! (Colored Vinyl.) Music Direct. 2007. ))
“Misery Business,” is one of them, featuring a storyline in the music video that is often showcased in high school teen dramas like Mean Girls (2004). The song includes heavier riffs as compared to the softer guitar that was featured on the first album and more raw vocals that showed off Williams’ vocal range.
The first song on the album, “For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic,” explores feelings about putting faith in someone and them not meeting those expectations, which alludes to the first album about the band’s issues regarding Davis. A lot of the songs on the album, however, are extremely high energy, such as “Crushcrushcrush,” which later seeps into their next studio album, “Brand New Eyes.”
“Brand New Eyes” (2009)
Written by Williams, Josh, and York, the band’s third album was released on September 29, 2009, featuring a line-up of songs that went even heavier than the last describing the album as alternative rock, pop-punk, and emo. Many of the songs were written about issues Williams had been going through in real time.
“I was like, ‘this isn’t a feel-good song, because I’m writing about something I’m going through right now, and it’s still painful,”
(( “Paramore Move Beyond ‘Misery Business’ With New Album.” MTV Interview. 2009. ))
Williams told James Montgomery with MTV.
In a separate interview with MTV, Williams admits that the album was written about their ex-guitarist, Josh Farro, whom she had been in a relationship with and had left the band shortly after the album was released. “It was really hard, because we were all friends, and then going through a breakup and going through any kind of tension as a band really affected all the lyrics,” (( “Paramore Say Majority Of ‘Brand New Eyes’ Is About Josh Farro.” MTV. 2011. )) she said.
The theme of the album nor the emotions attached to it negatively affected much else outside the band. In fact, it won “Best Album” at the Kerrang! Awards in 2010, “The Only Exception” received a Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals,” and was included in several publications’ year-end lists. “Brand New Eyes” was doing phenomenally, until tensions in the band became too much, and founding members Josh and Zac Farro announced their departure from the band in 2010. It was after their departure that the less-than-subtle jabs and drama when the band began to change.
Paramore’s Change In Sound
After the band was reduced to three members, Williams, Taylor, and Davis, who later officially left the band in 2015, their next album was not released until 2013, four years after, “Brand New Eyes.” The next albums to come featured a variety of genres all different from previous entries. This era of Paramore can be seen as their separation from who they once were.
“Paramore” (2013)
With their self-titled album came more than one change. The group was now a trio, with Williams, York, and Davis carrying on in the band. This was the start of their experimentation with varying sounds, as the album not only has alternative rock and pop-punk elements, but also new wave, a genre that gains inspiration from the late 1970s and 1980s, and funk rock.
“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.”
Hayley Williams, Rolling Stone, 2013 (( “Hayley Williams On Paramores Next Chapter.” Rolling Stone. 2013. ))
They wanted “Paramore” (2013) to be a reintroduction to the band and to prove that they could be more than the small-town kids from Tennessee they were when they started.
“Ain’t It Fun,” for instance, showed immense change for the band. Their sound was no longer heavy guitar riffs, intense drum beats, and angry lyrics accompanied by Williams’ low tone. Instead, it was upbeat keyboard chords mixed with the high-pitched sound of a xylophone and the light airy vocals of a gospel choir. The song created a way for them to challenge themselves creatively and push themselves.
Their single on the album, “Still Into You,” reached number one on the United Kingdom rock chart and number six on the United States rock chart. It was with this album that the group finally won a Grammy with “Ain’t It Fun,” receiving the award for “Best Rock Song.” Not only did they secure their first Grammy win, but Williams became the first woman to receive the award since 1999.
The changes did not stop for the band there and seeped into their next album four years later.
“After Laughter” (2017)
“After Laughter” was released in 2017 as a follow-up to their self-titled album “Paramore.” It was produced by York and was the first album since Zac Farro returned as their drummer and the departure of Davis in 2015. The album took on a complete shift from their previous ones with this one not featuring an ounce of their usual pop-punk, alternative rock sound.
Instead, it contains a line-up of songs that align more with the new wave and synth-pop genres of the 1980s. In an article by NPR, Paramore in this album is described as “a pop band, far removed from the emo days that created them.” (( “Paramore’s After Laughter Is Something New Built From Pieces Of The Past.” NPR. 2017. )) Nonetheless, the lyrics in the album do not shy away from the hard-hitting topics and feelings they started off writing about, and behind all the bright pop sounds is something deeper.
Williams tells Alternative Press Magazine that her time during “After Laughter” was extremely tough. “All the things that I let go of, or tried to let go of, when we went on tour just came crashing back down on top of me a few days after Art and Friends 2018. I had to go to intensive therapy. It was rough,” (( “Hayley Williams Says Life Was ‘Really Rough’ Through ‘After Laughter’ Cycle.” Alternative Press Magazine. 2020. )) she said.
York also expressed in an episode with Apple Music’s, Zane Lowe, that there were many times when he too wanted to quit, but he held on.
“I think that if it weren’t for Taylor, the band would be over,”
Hayley Williams, Apple Music, 2017. (( “Paramore Talk ‘After Laughter’ Album & Band Lineup Changes With Zane Lowe.” Apple Music. 2017. ))
The band pushed through, however, giving way to their most recent album, “This Is Why.”
Paramore Today: “This Is Why” (2023)
Now in their thirties, Williams, York, and Farro released their sixth studio album, “This Is Why,” on February 10, 2023. Despite the album starting off as a complete shift from their previous ones with their title track, “This Is Why,” featuring a pop, synth sound. As a whole, however, the album is very reminiscent of Paramore’s debut album, “All We Know Is Falling,” earning punk, alt-rock, and new wave genre labels.
In 2020 in an interview with NME (( “Hayley Williams on Paramore’s next album: ‘We’ve found ourselves listening to a lot of older music’.” NME. 2020. )), Williams alluded that the new album, “This Is Why,” would be returning to a more guitar-led sound. York expressed that he simply missed guitar-heavy songs, and since he and the other members had gotten back into older bands again, decided that was the path they wanted to tread.
The theme of this set of songs is very different in general. There are some that get political such as “The News” where Williams speaks about not being able to escape the horrors of the world with the news constantly displaying it. While others like, “C’est Comme Ca,” speak about mental health and how getting better is not all it’s cracked out to be.
Williams explains to NPR that she sometimes missed living the reckless life she had before. “There’s just been a lot of chaos and stress. Every struggle, it didn’t feel like I came out the other end better… Doing things like getting in bed early and reading a book or turning off my phone… all those things were so healing. But yeah, I still struggle,” (( “‘This Is Why’ It Was A Tough Road To Paramore’s New Album.” NPR. 2023. )) she said.
Five years of waiting for a new album is a long time, yet the band was not discouraged from releasing it. Instead, they felt that if there was a time to release the album, it was now. When asked by CBC Radio why Paramore is still here, Williams responded simply:
“I think that Zac and Taylor and I, we need music. But more than that, we need each other and, in the context of this band, to continue to grow as people.”
(( “‘I’m Very Much Addicted To A Survival Narrative’: Paramore’s Hayley Williams Isn’t Limiting Herself Anymore.” CBC Radio. 2023. ))
With barely a month or so after its release, “This Is Why,” has already received widespread acclaim from numerous music publications like Kerrang! and AllMusic.
Paramore’s Ever-Bright Future
The band has gone through numerous amount of hardships, from losing members time and time again, to their own personal struggles, over the last two decades together. With their elongated break, it only made sense that fans believed that the group who had comforted many during their teenage years was coming to an end. However, Paramore has shown that they are not going anywhere and have proven time and time again that they can get through anything so long as they have music.
The band is also back on tour, something which they have not done since 2018, and are hitting all the stops once again. (( Wikipedia Contributors. 2023, April 11. This Is Why Tour. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. )) With this much-awaited return, Paramore has begun fueling not only their original fans’ passionate return back into the fanbase but recruiting new fans as well. While some changes in sound can mean an end of an era in the popular eye, for Paramore, this simply shows that no matter what, their music will continuously evolve along with their growth.
