CD Review:
Paramore is looking up with ‘brand new eyes’
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Almost all of what Paramore knew was falling apart after its release of “RIOT!” in 2007. Paramore could have been no more after struggles within the band were nearly unbearable. Now, Hayley Williams, Taylor York, Jeremy Davis, and Josh and Zac Farro have returned with “brand new eyes.”
Fans of Paramore surely have noticed just how much the band’s instrumentals and lyrics have matured over the years. “Careful,” the first track on the new album, gives “brand new eyes” a bold opening (much like “For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic” from “RIOT!”). Williams (lead singer/lyricist) sings: “You can’t be too careful anymore / when all that is waiting for you / won’t come any closer / you’ve got to reach a little more.”
Hints of the former controversy within the band can be heard in the lyrics Williams wrote for “Ignorance,” “Playing God,” “Looking Up” and “Feeling Sorry.” “Ignorance” is a harsh song fueled by Williams’ passion to make her bandmates see and confront their problems. It proves to be one of their heaviest songs lyrically. “Yeah, the friends who stuck together / we wrote our names in blood / but I guess you can’t accept that the change is good.”
Throughout the album, fans can hear Paramore fall apart with Williams’ blunt lyrics and the accompaniment the boys of the band provide with their instrumentals. “Looking Up,” Track 8 on “brand new eyes,” pieces Paramore’s puzzle back together with the optimism and reassurance in the lyrics. “God knows the world doesn’t need another band / whoa-oa-oa whoa-oa-oa / but what a waste it would have been.”
“The Only Exception” is the sweetest song Paramore has ever released with its calming guitar part accompanying Williams’ voice. “Playing God” provides another look into the band’s past struggles, and “Where The Lines Overlap” gives the listener something to smile about. “No one is as lucky as us / we’re not at the end, but we already won.”
“Brand new eyes” clues fans in on what the band has been through on a deep level. The band members were definitely born for this, and fans will not believe that Paramore “almost hung it up” after listening to the entire album.
Emily Steves is a junior at Gowanda High School.
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