Brand New Eyes (2009)
Paramore expands their sound, but is it at the expense of... their sound?
It is sometimes said that when a band gets signed, they pretty much have enough material for two albums already. So the distinction between a good band and a great band can fall on whether they're able to outdo themselves when they're faced with the foreign territory of that third record, having to write from scratch again. If that is indeed the case, Paramore is a great band.
As it happens, I bought Brand New Eyes right at the same time that I found out Josh Farro (the band's guitarist who writes the instrumentations) and his brother Zac (the band's incredible drummer) had quit the band due to interpersonal difficulties. Listening to the album, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner! Hayley apparently utilizes nearly every track on the record to viciously and succinctly tear Josh (her former boyfriend) to tiny little pieces (perhaps with good reason, I don't know). And it's thrice as vindictive as Fleetwood Mac's well known pop kiss-off via the Rumors LP, because here Hayley is the only one who gets to have her say, while Josh has to just sit back and play.
I never thought Brand New Eyes would be able to match the incredible Riot! album. But all in all I would say they're about neck and neck. Riot! possesses the best hooks, while Brand New Eyes presents much more articulate and mature lyrics. They each present a solid selection of good songs and a handful of ultimate standouts for the band.
Primarily what Brand New Eyes does is update Paramore's classic power-pop style with a slightly slicker and more mature aesthetic. The ultimate hookage of 'Ignorance' and 'Brick By Boring Brick' would have felt right at home on Riot!, while the more chugging pulse of 'Careful' and the ecstatic balladry of 'All I Wanted' could have sat alongside tracks on Paramore's debut All We Know Is Falling. That being said, Brand New Eyes easily scorches past Paramore's debut and sits next to Riot! as one of their greatest efforts.
The hooks are slightly more subdued but still packing heat. The lyrics are both thoughtful and uplifting, as Hayley effortlessly trounces the spiritual assaults she receives and vindicates herself with forceful abandon. Perhaps the most interesting track (although the hookiest is definitely 'Ignorance'), is the bombastic, catchy, and bittersweet 'Brick By Boring Brick,' where Hayley invites the protagonist to dismantle her fantasy world piece by piece. The song also lends the album its cover-art, as the protagonist's coming-of-age disillusionment manifests itself in the act of "tearing wings off of butterflies."
I originally put off getting Brand New Eyes for a while, because the track 'The Only Exception,' which is Paramore's most successful single, is also the single worst track the band has ever committed to record. When I first heard it, I was certain that Hayley must have released a solo album. Because other than her distinctive voice, the song sounds nothing like Paramore.
The lyrics are decent but the song is doomed to banality by a molasses pace, uninspired instrumentation and perhaps the most boring chorus known to mankind. Furthermore the premise falls thin as Hayley sings of "vow[ing] to never sing of love" while 90% of her recorded discography does exclusively that. If I heard it done by GG Allin, Pink Floyd, Alice In Chains, or any band that doesn't predominantly write love songs, then I may have been impressed.
But luckily the rest of the record shines bright enough to easily obscure its one faulty moment. And the band's other forays into foreign territory fare much better, namely the tender and folky 'Misguided Ghosts' which possesses an almost Petty-esque sense of world-weariness, and a CSNY-worthy command of folk guitar. All in all: With more than one truly great album, Paramore may be on their way into my personal pantheon.
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