(The Verge) – To preface this review, Paramore was my jam in the beginning of high school. I jumped on that bandwagon when they came out with Riot! and I quickly devoured the rest of their discography. When they came out with Brand New Eyes, I was less than impressed. Since that album, and their controversial line-up change with founding members Josh and Jeremy Farro leaving, Paramore was on the back burner in my mind. However, Paramore is currently coming out with their fourth studio album, a self-titled album, and their first full length release with the new line up. For nostalgia sake, I decided to watch the music video they recently released for their first single from the album: “Now.”
Compared to their previous work, this song is heavy on guitar distortion. In fact, all of the distortion almost makes how clean Hayley Williams’, the front woman, vocals sound unsettling; it is almost as if they belong to a different song. However, the contrast becomes less jarring as the song continues. The chorus provides some reverb and overdub on Williams’ vocals, giving her more weight to compete with the heavy guitar. Judging from the heavy use of distortion on the guitar and the lyrical content of the song, Paramore is dealing with some tougher themes than some of their previous works. The song seems to be wrestling with the aftermath of the Farro brothers’ departure and their decision to continue as a band. The chorus implies they are in it for the long run stating “if there is a future, we want it.”
The video accompanying this song depicts a battle scene. Throughout the entire video, Paramore is fighting this unknown army (the public? self-doubt?) all being orchestrated by one man. Williams is trying to get her way through this chaos of fighting and color bombs to get to this one man, presumably to defeat him. As we get to the breakdown of the song, the band seems to be losing, Williams especially. As the music swells back up into it’s rage, the band breaks free from its captors. Williams is finally able to get to this man leading the attack, and she hugs him. The band is definitely taking artistic license with this video, depicting what should be blood as bursts of color and fighting fire with love.
Personally, I am interested to see what direction this band is going in. This is definitely heavier than their last albums, which is most likely caused from the band’s line-up change. From this song alone, it seems as if the change in members shook the foundation of Paramore and they are rebuilding from the ashes.
Curious? Here is the link:
