Paramore are a personal favourite band of mine, because each of their albums has a distinctive tone to it, and I would say this is probably my favourite of their albums because it's tone is very powerful and youthful, but still far more mature than their first two efforts. "All We Know Is Falling" was very promising and had a lot of excellent songs, but lacked any songs to get anyone hooked, while "Riot!" had as many hooks as you can shake a stick at but was a little bit too polished. This album, in my opinion, has struck an excellent balance and it contains probably their most emotional writing to date. So, let's review track by track.
Careful:
A fist pumping opening to the album that showcases from the very start Williams' amazing vocal talent. This song is very emotive, partially due to the guitar layering which has always been a very strong point of Paramore's. Overall, an excellent opening to the album which has you wanting more.
Ignorance:
A very up tempo emo-punk number in the same vein as Misery Business, that it's a very, very obvious single, yet this song has a much more pained emotional feel to it than Misery Business, I think this is the first time that the album shows it's forceful overcoming troubles attitude, and it shows through Williams soaring vocals and Farro's very rhythmic guitar lines.
Playing God:
A track that opens with a beautiful harmonised guitar line and some calm singing before breaking into an extremely upbeat chorus. Although this song has one of the most upbeat chorus' on the album, the lyrics would likely fit a much more depressing song "Next time you point a finger, I'll point you the mirror". My only criticism is that this song doesn't have the energy that the opener and single have, losing a bit of sparkle.
Brick by Boring Brick:
This is one of my favourite songs on the album, not particularly because of the guitar parts or even because of Williams performance, no, this is one of my favourites purely because it has some of the most beautiful lyrics I've ever heard. The emotion in this song is bursting from the seams and while it doesn't have the hooks it has something I think is even more important, it has some integrity.
Turn it Off:
This, along with the finale, are my very favourite songs Paramore have written, it begins with a devilishly catchy guitar part, and then slows down into some more perfect lyrics that Williams has become so adept at writing. The chorus to this song is the one of the best on the album, combining her excellent vocals to an upbeat hook, making it impossible to not sing along. It uses a personal favourite musical device of mine, slowing down to a clean breakdown before crashing into a huge final chorus with Williams hitting some incredible notes.
The Only Exception:
A heartfelt love song that slows down after all of the mid tempo rockers that this album has so far been made up of which serves as a nice relaxation point between the two halves of the album but unfortunately it never really builds up to anything, the instrumentation in this song (especially the drumming), while nice, stays similar throughout, so there's no climax, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in a song which basically serves to calm you down, but I think it could have progressed a little more than it did.
Feeling Sorry:
This is one of the rare songs on a Paramore record in which Williams sings in a more cold manner, almost insulting the subject of the song, but the lesser lyrics in this song are compensated for by the best instrumental performance from each member on the whole album, the drumming standing out as a really upbeat backbone for the song. The guitar lines provide melodic progression excellently in this song, building up to each part perfectly. The vocal harmonies in this song are some of my favourite in the entire album also.
Looking Up:
This song doesn't really add anything, staying in the same key as the one before it and in keeping a similar tone to the last song, it does have redeeming qualities such as the vocal performances especially in the breakdown but you can't escape the nagging feeling that this is just filler.
Where the Lines Overlap:
The personal lowpoint of the whole album for me, it's all very safe and heard it all before kind of writing, almost certainly filler just to prepare you for the songs to finish on, this and "Looking Up" are my least favourite on the album simply because the rest of the album is so amazing.
Misguided Ghosts:
Another high point for me, this song begins with a lovely acoustic fingerpicked line, accompanied by some soft vocals with very mature lyrics, and this combined with the slightly downtoned recording quality give this song a real homegrown quality to it. It shows real growth, this song and "The Only Exception" would have been completely out of place on any other Paramore record but on this they sound fantastic, and the record is better for it.
All I Wanted:
This is it, the big finish, and what a finish it is! Starting with a beautiful guitar line over some haunting chordal picking, the vocals are tender and fragile without losing her signature tone, which is impressive. The first chorus calm and emotional, before breaking into a massive guitar progression, which really breaks out, but is then reeled in for the second verse, which retains a similar feel to the beginning, albeit a little louder. When the second chorus comes in the album unveils the most heartfelt vocal performance that it has, and Williams' "All I Wanted" line will just give you a feeling that this is a really amazing record.
Overall I'd say that this is the best thing that they could have produced right now, the instrumentation and vocal performances stand out even more here than they did before, and the maturity here is incredible for their age.
Careful:
A fist pumping opening to the album that showcases from the very start Williams' amazing vocal talent. This song is very emotive, partially due to the guitar layering which has always been a very strong point of Paramore's. Overall, an excellent opening to the album which has you wanting more.
Ignorance:
A very up tempo emo-punk number in the same vein as Misery Business, that it's a very, very obvious single, yet this song has a much more pained emotional feel to it than Misery Business, I think this is the first time that the album shows it's forceful overcoming troubles attitude, and it shows through Williams soaring vocals and Farro's very rhythmic guitar lines.
Playing God:
A track that opens with a beautiful harmonised guitar line and some calm singing before breaking into an extremely upbeat chorus. Although this song has one of the most upbeat chorus' on the album, the lyrics would likely fit a much more depressing song "Next time you point a finger, I'll point you the mirror". My only criticism is that this song doesn't have the energy that the opener and single have, losing a bit of sparkle.
Brick by Boring Brick:
This is one of my favourite songs on the album, not particularly because of the guitar parts or even because of Williams performance, no, this is one of my favourites purely because it has some of the most beautiful lyrics I've ever heard. The emotion in this song is bursting from the seams and while it doesn't have the hooks it has something I think is even more important, it has some integrity.
Turn it Off:
This, along with the finale, are my very favourite songs Paramore have written, it begins with a devilishly catchy guitar part, and then slows down into some more perfect lyrics that Williams has become so adept at writing. The chorus to this song is the one of the best on the album, combining her excellent vocals to an upbeat hook, making it impossible to not sing along. It uses a personal favourite musical device of mine, slowing down to a clean breakdown before crashing into a huge final chorus with Williams hitting some incredible notes.
The Only Exception:
A heartfelt love song that slows down after all of the mid tempo rockers that this album has so far been made up of which serves as a nice relaxation point between the two halves of the album but unfortunately it never really builds up to anything, the instrumentation in this song (especially the drumming), while nice, stays similar throughout, so there's no climax, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in a song which basically serves to calm you down, but I think it could have progressed a little more than it did.
Feeling Sorry:
This is one of the rare songs on a Paramore record in which Williams sings in a more cold manner, almost insulting the subject of the song, but the lesser lyrics in this song are compensated for by the best instrumental performance from each member on the whole album, the drumming standing out as a really upbeat backbone for the song. The guitar lines provide melodic progression excellently in this song, building up to each part perfectly. The vocal harmonies in this song are some of my favourite in the entire album also.
Looking Up:
This song doesn't really add anything, staying in the same key as the one before it and in keeping a similar tone to the last song, it does have redeeming qualities such as the vocal performances especially in the breakdown but you can't escape the nagging feeling that this is just filler.
Where the Lines Overlap:
The personal lowpoint of the whole album for me, it's all very safe and heard it all before kind of writing, almost certainly filler just to prepare you for the songs to finish on, this and "Looking Up" are my least favourite on the album simply because the rest of the album is so amazing.
Misguided Ghosts:
Another high point for me, this song begins with a lovely acoustic fingerpicked line, accompanied by some soft vocals with very mature lyrics, and this combined with the slightly downtoned recording quality give this song a real homegrown quality to it. It shows real growth, this song and "The Only Exception" would have been completely out of place on any other Paramore record but on this they sound fantastic, and the record is better for it.
All I Wanted:
This is it, the big finish, and what a finish it is! Starting with a beautiful guitar line over some haunting chordal picking, the vocals are tender and fragile without losing her signature tone, which is impressive. The first chorus calm and emotional, before breaking into a massive guitar progression, which really breaks out, but is then reeled in for the second verse, which retains a similar feel to the beginning, albeit a little louder. When the second chorus comes in the album unveils the most heartfelt vocal performance that it has, and Williams' "All I Wanted" line will just give you a feeling that this is a really amazing record.
Overall I'd say that this is the best thing that they could have produced right now, the instrumentation and vocal performances stand out even more here than they did before, and the maturity here is incredible for their age.
