Album Review: After Laughter - Paramore

Paramore is a rock band from Tennessee, U.S. The band was formed in 2004, and currently consists of members, Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zacc Farro.

At a young age, Hayley started having vocal lessons, and began writing songs. The other members of 'soon to be' Paramore were on edge about having a female lead vocalist. Hayley was originally signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist in 2003. However, the record labels plan was to turn her into a pop princess, in which Hayley fought back, determined to play alternative rock, with a band.

Paramore were supposed to release their music through Atlantic Records, however, this was thought to be bad for their image, so released it through the niche label, Fueled By Ramen.

Their first debut album, 'All We Know Is Falling', was released in 2005. 'Pressure' was released as the first single, but it failed to chart. Paramore were, and still are a touring band, participating in a variety of festivals and tours, including Warped Tour. In 2006, during their time at Warped Tour, they sold an exclusive EP, 'The Summer Tic EP'. They later went on their first US headlining tour, to a sold out audience. That year they were voted as the 'Best New Band' by Kerrang readers. Throughout their career, Hayley Williams has featured on a range of other artists tracks.

The second debut album, 'Riot!', was released on 12th June 2007, entering the UK charts at 24, and the Billboard 200 at 20. The first single, 'Misery Business', was released shortly after the album. At the end of 2007, Paramore performed on the MTV New Year's Eve program.

The band was nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Amy Winehouse.

In 2008, despite touring the United Kingdom, and beginning a tour in Europe, the band had to cancel six shows due to personal issues, causing speculation from fans about the bands future together. However, after returning to their hometown, they recorded a music video for their fourth single, 'That's What You Get'.

In 2009, their third studio album, 'Brand New Eyes', was completed. The album was promoted with a supporting tour, however, some dates were postponed due to Hayley Williams becoming infected with laryngitis. They also recorded a performance for MTV Unplugged.

The fourth album, 'Paramore', was released in 2013 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. There were a number of singles from this album including, 'Now', 'Still Into You', which received commercial success, 'Daydreaming', and 'Ain't It Fun', which became the band's highest charting song in the United States.

Track List:

1. Hard Times

2. Rose-Coloured Boy

3. Told You So

4. Forgiveness

5. Fake Happy

6. 26

7. Pool

8. Grudges

9. Caught In The Middle

10. Idle Worship

11. No Friend

12. Tell Me How

The album kicks off with the first single released, 'Hard Times'. I really like this song, the beginning reminds me of a song I would hear on holiday, it just has tropical vibe to it! The song is very catchy, and I do find myself singing the chorus every now and then, just out of the blue. It is a very different song, and I really like the lyrics, I find them very relatable.

The second song's title caught my eye.. 'Rose-Coloured Boy'. The song followed the same retro/electronic sound as the first. I love the fast paced beat, and the chorus is very catchy. Added with the amazing vocals and insightful lyrics, I feel this could be a favourite for many. I also thought the chant in it made it sound like an old song, but can I think of which one... Nope!

'Told You So' was the second single Paramore released. I did a quick single review of it, which you can check out here. I really like this song and I love the tune to the chorus.

The fourth song is 'Forgiveness'. It has a slower beat, but still in line with the other songs. The album has a sort of theme running through it. It is quite a mellow, simple song. I like the lyrics and that the song seems to flow. There is no real build up to the chorus, which surprisingly, is really nice. I feel like this is just a filler song for the album.

'Fake Happy' was a weird one for me. I'm not the biggest fan of the beginning, however, I like the natural and rawness of her voice and the guitar. It then picks up a lot more which is nice, as it caters for a range of people. I really like the lyrics, they are so relatable to so many people, yet sound so personal. The upbeat part of the song is when I would have the volume right up, it's a tune.

'26' is a slow acoustic sounding ballad. I love the guitar in it, it's like a break in the album. The lyrics and vocals are so pure and emotional. I like how a string section is added in, brings the emotional side out even more. Also, the song slowly builds throughout the song, only steadily but it still brings a different feeling to the song, and finishes with a sweet ending.

The seventh song is 'Pool'. The beginning sort of sounded like wind chimes. This song is back to the upbeat sound, like the previous half of the album, however, it still has a slow element to it. I love the chorus, it is so different and catchy. I really liked that the chorus was repeated towards the end of the song.

The eighth song on the album is 'Grudges'. It has the same type of beginning as the other upbeat songs, and I wasn't overly fond of Hayley's low vocals, however, it does show the versatility of her voice. It reminds me of an alt/indie song, so incorporates other genres onto the record. I did like that one of the guys vocals is featured on a part of this song. It is quite a nice 'bog'/uplifting song.

'Caught In The Middle' has a really nice beginning, but the vocals were slower than the beat and I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it or not. Normally when that happens on a song it just bugs me as things are not in sync. It has a nice chorus, which is different to the verse. Overall, this isn't my favourite song on the album.

'Idle Worship' is the tenth song on the album. This song had such amazing and strong vocals. I really liked the 'la's', as it added a unique sound. It is a upbeat, catchy song that flows really nicely. I found the lyrics to be my favourite part of this song, especially the chorus. The bridge is another favourite part of mine.

Now the eleventh song... 'No Friend'. I don't really have any words for this in all honesty, other than not understanding it. You can't hear anything they are saying, it's just all mumbled. It has the same beat and music continuously repeating itself, which after a while I found really annoying. I can definitely say this is my least favourite on the album.

'Tell Me How' is a nice, simple, slow ballad, accompanied by a piano and lovely soft vocals from Hayley. I liked that throughout the song she slowly built her vocals up. In places, there were some soothing harmonies added, and half-way through a beat was added to pick the song up slightly. It did get quite repetitive but overall, I think it was a nice song to finish the album off with.