Few bands on the brink of breaking up amidst the unholy trio of infighting, ego, and a lengthy tour schedule make it back from that edge; greater bands than Paramore didn’t make it (see: the Police, Blink 182, among countless others). But Paramore’s third studio album brand new eyes is an emotional chronicling of the tumultuous period after the band’s, specifically frontwoman Hayley Williams’, ascent to stardom and the internal struggles that nearly sent them careening back to Earth. But more importantly, brand new eyes shows off a band who has been through their own private hell, and has emerged from it smarter, tighter and a better band releasing their best work to date.
Whereas 2007’s breakthrough Riot! was a relentless punk rock assault from start to finish, brand new eyes picks its punches very carefully, instead opting to bob and weave and aim its punches for where it’ll hurt the most. Opener “Careful” presents a series of quick jabs before the freight train first single “Ignorance” pounds its way into the eardrums without mercy or second thoughts. But the delicate acoustic guitar coupled with a rare frailty in Williams’ usually booming voice in “The Only Exception” creates a feeling of imbalance before landing another swift blow as Williams spits “I’ve got no time for feeling sorry” on “Feeling Sorry”, creating the same internal conflict the band felt. On the one hand, there’s a definite love for Paramore amongst and between its members, which the band reflects on after the fact on the triumphant “Where The Lines Overlap” and “Getting Started. But at the same time “Playing God”, which beautifully channels Paramore’s idols Jimmy Eat World on one of the band’s best-written songs yet, is a biting, frustrated accusation of overblown egos. The mixed feelings gel together almost seamlessly with few songs (the sparse “Misguided Ghosts”) feeling out of place, making brand new eyes feel almost like a phantom member of the band collecting all of the exhaustion, joy and burden placed on Paramore’s shoulders.
Like the band making the music, brand new eyes comes out better as a whole after its struggles. And Williams is quick to brilliantly document the lessons learned in the parable “Brick By Boring Brick”, reminding herself and others to “build your home brick by boring brick, or the wolf’s gonna blow it down”. “Brick” is easily the highlight of this album and the band’s career, a centerpiece to the album and a terrific milemarker to remind the young band of where they’ve gone, and the heights to which they’ve yet to ascend.
Final Score: 9.1/10
Paramore – Playing God [iTunes] (YSI)
==TJ==
