Paramore’s Hayley Williams has uploaded footage of herself playing a partial acoustic cover of Failure‘s “The Nurse Who Loved Me.”
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Hayley Williams (Paramore) has premiered a new video for her new song “Leave It Alone.”
Hayley Williams (Paramore) has premiered a new video for her new song “Simmer.”
Tonight Alive's sophomore album “The Other Side” has suppressed the curse that comes with making a second album. The band took a slightly softer approach to this album, but the style of the band definitely shines through. Incorporating sounds of Paramore, Stars In Stereo, and even a hint of Kelly Clarkson. Tonight Alive masters the sounds of a modern pop-rock album at its core. With energetic intros, fast-paced verses and catchy, high pitched choruses, this album brings old school pop-rock back again with a twist.
The album opens up with “The Ocean” sporting a sound and style that closely resembles Paramore with a hint of Anberlin. With all of these comparisons to other bands, Tonight Alive still has their way of sticking out. Instead of mimicking the sounds of their sister bands, they comfortably blend them together in a style that doesn’t disappoint. Songs like title track, “The Other Side” and “Bathwater” show the newer, more progressive side to the band.
Tonight Alive delivers on their musical promise of keeping a unique sound in a genre where mimicry is just a layer of thin ice away. “The Other Side” has many unique qualities, but falls short in a few places. Tonight Alive seemed to follow the well trodden path of a typical album. The songs and styles themselves are unique, but the format on which the album was constructed is a bit stereotypical. The album opens with a fast paced, energetic song, followed by two more matching the pace only to get to the slower songs as the album goes on. The atmosphere of each song became predictable by the fourth track, but the songwriting and sound of the band makes up for it. Although album fluidity is vital, it can be outweighed by raw talent as shown on “The Other Side”.
The sophomore album curse is definitely still prevalent these days and it seems to draw a distinctive line between the bands that have the chops, and those that don’t. It humbles me to say that Tonight Alive has the chops and has lived up to the hype that is so often tossed around the fans of this genre. “The Other Side” stays afloat and shows a gradual and natural progression from the band’s last album. A progression that shows promise and should be embraced and supported throughout the rest of this band’s promising career.
Rating: 9/10
- Nic
With the promising release of the single “Now,” Paramore’s self-titled fourth album appeared to be headed in the right direction for the newly-diminished lineup of the band. But now the 17-song album dropped, and fans are in for a dramatic turn in the band’s sound.
What used to be a powerhouse of punk rock has now turned into a vocal-oriented indie/pop band with a sound only vaguely reminiscent of the unique style that Paramore proved itself with. The opening track of the album, “Fast In My Car,” surprises listeners with a retro drumbeat backed by electronic effects and a new fuzz guitar tone that permeates the whole album.
By eschewing the natural progression set forth by the previous three albums, the new album has turned out to be, for the most part, a disappointment; with the exception of a few select songs like “Part II” and “Future,” these new songs are almost unrecognizable as being Paramore.
The sixth track, “Ain’t it Fun”, starts off in a solid direction, but veers off into a confusingly-placed bluesy choir which ultimately ends the song with a whimper. Even their soft love song, “I Hate to See Your Heart Break,” only brings a lack of excitement and style that could never live up to the immensely popular ballad “The Only Exception” off of their third album. If it weren’t for the vocalist’s (Hayley Williams) growing writing style and vocal skill backed by the scarcely-heard airy guitar leads trademarked on their platinum-selling second album Riot!, there would be nothing to carry over from the sound they built themselves upon.
The band was not expected to release a repeat, but this album represents a change in the band’s style that does more harm than good; progression is one thing, but changing genres is another. Even the single that was released shortly after the lineup was reduced to three, “Monster,” is only a false illusion of what fans are to hear on this album. The lack of synergy on this album is very unlike the band, and the three “Interlude” songs on this album only serve to dissipate any hope of these songs clinging together. On their own merits, the songs aren’t horrible; if this were a debut album of an upcoming band, they would be promising.
The vocals are catchy, the songs are simple, and give small insights into each genre. But for Paramore, a band that has built itself on an out standing pop/punk/rock style, and had all three of their albums reach gold status (one of them being Riot! which went on to reach platinum status in the US), this album is misleading and unacceptable. This album proves what can happen to a band after losing two main members and having an almost 4-year break in between records.
Although the album mostly rings of disappointment, there are songs that stick out. Their single “Now” showed a catchy intro still in the style of the new found trio. This song could even be connected to the same sound that “Monster” had. The song that ends the album, “Future”, even has the feel of “Misguided Ghosts” and when it breaks out into a full band it ends the album in a fade-out/fade-in which was a very interesting effect that fit well with the song.
With this album leading into Paramore’s new sound and career, fans can only wait and see what is to come next of the band. With a band comprised of only three original members and a record that has redefined their sound for the worse, things are looking cloudy for the band.
5.5/10
-Nic Cheatle
Paramore will release their self-titled fourth album on April 9th. The first single is titled “Now.” Read a statement from the band below.
The time has come Paramore fans, friends, and family… And for that matter, the time has come for the rest of you as well. We are ready to spill the beans about what we’ve been doing over the last *coughYEARcough*. With the most pride and passion we could ever possibly express, we would like to announce that this album, our fourth freaking album… Will be self-titled, ‘Paramore’. It has been self-titled through nearly the entire process. In fact, what usually takes us weeks on end to sum up and put a label on only took us a five minute conversation this time around. The whole making of this album was a rediscovering of ourselves as a band and as friends. It was a process that allowed us the freedom to explore new territory artistically and to liberate ourselves as musicians, singers, as people! Sincerely, we feel that the best way to give it a name is just to call it what it is. This album is us.
The first single off the album is called “Now”. Not really sure what else to say except for we love this song. It just feels like the perfect way to start this new journey we are embarking on not only as a band but as a movement. To show people that you can lose battles but come back and win full on wars. You can rise from ashes. You can make something out of even less than nothing. The only thing you have to do is keep moving forward!
Thanks to our fans for believing in the three of us before we ever even did. And to our producer, JMJ, for seeing a brand new band in us. We are prouder than ever and more excited now than ever to be Paramore.
'Paramore' will be released April 9th.
We spoke to Jenna from Tonight Alive about her hometown, favorite foreign foods, and her favorite places to play. You can check them out on the Vans Warped Tour 2012, coming to a town near you this summer.
For the record, what’s your name and what do you do in the band?
My name’s Jenna and I sing in Tonight Alive!
Let’s talk about your roots. I’ve never been to Sydney, Australia before. What’s it like down there?
It’s awesome! I love it and I’ll probably never leave it [laughs]. Sydney kind of has everything really: City, Sea, Bush, Suburbia. It’s very multicultural and the weather’s pretty good too.
What was the very first concert you attended and how much of an impact did that have on you musically?
My parents took us to fairs and sit down concerts of super group type bands but my first REAL concert was Status Quo and Deep Purple at the Hordern Pavillion with my Dad. It was the first time I saw a real venue and the first time I every smelt weed. The first time I ever saw a band that I really loved was All American Rejects with Hellogoodbye at the Roundhouse. I’d never experienced a mosh pit before and it was love at first sight!
"What Are You So Scared Of?" finally came out in February in the USA - what’s the meaning behind the album title? What’s the concept behind the album overall?
"What Are You So Scared Of?" is generally the concept of recognizing your fears and overcoming them. It’s an idea that we came to when we realized we could either quit or keep pushing, even though to keep pushing was the harder option. We know firsthand the kind of hardships that our fans go through growing up because we’ve been there too. It’s a kind of culture at our shows to unite against fear in a way and we feel really strongly about setting the example to our listeners that everything happens for a reason, nothing worth having comes easy and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Will we ever see a video for “Thank You & Goodnight?
Probably not; no! Sorry to disappoint!
What was your first tour in the USA like? Have you found a favorite food/drink/etc here that you can’t get back home?
I seriously had the time of my life. It was the first time we’d left Australia on tour and it felt like nothing else. I really love Baby Swiss Cheezits, Sunchips, Chipotle, Grape Juice, white chocolate coated Oreos and Denny’s. I love Denny’s. Basically all your junk food because it’s totally excessive and delicious!
What are some of your favorite venues/cities/countries that you like to play in? Any standout experiences that you’ve had (good or bad)?
We were lucky enough to play The House of Blues in New Orleans and Orlando and I absolutely loved it there! The Metro Theatre is my favorite venue in Sydney, The Gramercy Theatre in New York, The Academies in the UK and especially Shepherds Bush in London. They were all really feel good places to play!
On that note, which is the best/worst run venues from a production and band point of view?
I think there are far too many poorly run venues to list and I think we’ve played in almost 90% of them [laughs]. But I will say that everywhere we played in Europe was extremely accommodating!
A good amount of Australia bands have found success here in the United States, such as Parkway Drive, Hands Like Houses, The Amity Affliction I Killed The Prom Queen, etc. What are some artists from Australia that you think people here in America are going to respond really well to?
Our friends Skyway from the Gold Coast and Northlane from Sydney!
Do you guys get tired of the constant comparisons to Paramore?
I can’t remember the last time that happened actually. It’s been wearing off for a while now.
If the opportunity presented itself, would you have Hayley Williams do guest vocals on the next record?
Not unless we recorded a super group girl power song with Tay, Sierra, Hayley and me [laughs].
Last question: What is one book AND one band that you’d personally recommend to anyone that listens to Tonight Alive and what reasons do you have to support your choices?
Man I could answer this question 10 different ways and I know the boys would answer very differently because they’re big readers [laughs].. But I love love love ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and Jack’s Mannequin. I just think both of them are so honest and real. There’s nothing preconceived or pretentious about the way ‘Perks’ is written and I feel really connected and open minded to Andrew McMahon.
Paramore are currently in LA meeting with producers for their next album.
Well… It’s been about 4 months since we’ve written to you guys. Awkward! But honestly, this “off-time” has set the record for the longest amount of time we’ve ever spent off since before the couple of weeks we spent making our 1st full length album back in 2005. Don’t kid yourself though. It hasn’t been all hangs and no hard work! What the three of us want you to know is we are headed to Los Angeles next week to meet with a whole mess of really incredible producers. And we are - basically - bringing you along with us to find the one that will help us create our 4th full length album. So, we’re taking a video camera with us to producer meetings, hotel recording sessions, and all of our LA adventures. If you don’t know, now you know, next week is a big deal for us and we are psyched to make you a part of it.
In a recent twitter status, Shane Blay of Oh, Sleeper reveals his interest in writing a song with Hayley Williams, and is starting a twitter campaign/petition to make it happen.