Pick of the Moment: Paramore by Paramore

Paramore has done something that’s hard, if not impossible to do – to change what your music is about, but to keep your sound and original fans. But somehow, they've done it, and done it spectacularly on their 4^th album.

If you were alive in 2007, you’re familiar with emo music. And if you weren’t alive then, you should get off the computer and study for kindergarten. Emo music was everywhere, and every rock band on the radio made it. Panic! At the Disco, Fallout Boy, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, and Linkin Park were on repeat on my mp3 player, along with millions of other kids around the world. But Paramore was slightly different – they had a female lead singer. A very, very, very hot female singer. This brought in a trend of emo/alternative bands with female leads like Flyleaf and Hey Monday. However, Paramore is the only band from that era still kicking today. Why? Because they've evolved in a way that doesn't alienate their fan base, but matches the waves and trends in contemporary music, and this album is a culmination of that.

Their previous effort, brand new eyes, hinted at the new direction they would be going for Paramore. bne had a mix of love songs and I hate you songs, the latter being what they had traditionally done, and was what every other alternative band had done before them. But these love songs were something new, and, at least for me, was a refreshing change for both the band and the genre as a whole.

The best way I can describe the songs here is that they are aggressive love songs. I mean, look at “Be Alone”. It starts off in a fairly standard, aggressive way, but then we reach the chorus and Hayley sings out “You should be alone/Yeah, you should be alone/You should be alone with me”. It keeps the normal alt-rock attitude and sound, but it’s a song about how much she’s into a dude, and how he should totally hang out with her because it’ll be totally awesome. Totes. Same with “Still Into You”; it’s all about how, even after all this time, she’s still in love her guy, with a traditional alternative rock backing. It’s sweet, it’s touching, it’s headbang worthy.

There’s a few of the angry songs, but they aren't really angry. They come across as more of an acceptance of facts, an attempt to move on and separate from the past, and if they have to do it angrily, then so be it. Even “Part 2”, which is a sequel to “Let the Flames Begin” off of Riot!, takes the edge off the anger from the lyrics on the original track, but keeps the aggressive music somewhat intact.

And they experiment too, which is nice. They take a stab at post-rock on “Future”, mimicking Sigur Ros or God Speed You Black Emperor, in their own way. They do some sunny, beachy songs with “Moving On”, “Holiday”, and “I’m Not Angry Anymore”, all interludes on the album. “Hate To See Your Heart Break” takes on a late 50’s, early 60’s pop R&B love song feel (and by “pop”, I mean the stolen white version). It really shows off Hayley’s talent as a singer, if you ever had to question it. Plus, there’s the addition of the keyboard on nearly every track, which adds a nice, new layer to the sound.

Whatever you thought of Paramore before, ignore. Give this album, or at least a few of non-single tracks a listen. Trust me, I think you’ll like it. Know what else you'll like? Our blog on Facebook.

Track of the Moment: This Close by Flyleaf

Oh God, here’s Wildcard Eric talking about bands and genres nobody likes or cares about, even though every time he’s shown a different and more musically talented side to those things. Today, we have a Christian metal band. And that was the sound of everyone reading this article throwing their laptops through a window. Come on, do we need to this every single time? It’s like you don’t understand what this blog is about – sharing music interesting music that we like. And I wouldn’t like Flyleaf without a reason.

Everyone knows their hard-hitting pseudo-metal debut album. With songs like “I’m So Sick” coming over the radio and hitting MTV, people were taken aback; this little 5 foot tall girl with such a sweet voice breaking into scream as some metal or very hard rock guitars and drums crash around it. Many people wrote them off as some gimmicky, emo band who favored a more abrasive sound after that first listen. But, I was in my From First to Last, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance phase (I look back at that period with a touch of embarrassment), so I stuck around and discovered a varied, hard rock band. And then I never heard from them again.

However, one day about 2 years ago, I decided to check back up on them. It had been 5 years since the release of Flyleaf, and I was curious to see what they had been up. Much to my surprise, they had released a new album in 2009, so I immediately picked it up. And the new material was interesting; it was a slightly different, softer album. Lacey Sturm, the lead singer, had dropped the scream (for the most part, it’s there in the background on a few songs) and the guitars went more for a standard hard rock/harder alternative sound.

Now, before I get to the actual music, there is an interesting story behind the band, and, more importantly, about the music they made. Born in 1981, Lacey Mosley began to try drugs at the standard age of drug use, 10 years old. She then began using heroin in a bad way when she was 13, probably in an effort to mimic the lead singer of one her favorite bands, Nirvana. A few years later she was kicked out her home for fighting with her mom so badly that the police were called (in a move to mimic Courtney Love, or so I assume). She was sent to live with her grandparents in Mississippi, where she became depressed and suicidal from losing her friends, family, boyfriend, and, most importantly, her drugs. Usually, this is the point in the story where she becomes a crack whore and eventually is found dead in a cheap motel. Obviously, something happened to change that. In a movie-like twist, the day before she was going to kill herself, her grandmother dragged her to church, where she found God, accepted Jesus into her heart, and became a devout Christian. I’m not very religious, but it’s stories like this that make me glad that there’s something that gives people a reason to continue living, even if I don’t believe in the same thing.

At some point during her musical career, she met Joshua Sturm, a guitarist for the band Kairos, a Pittsburgh based outfit. In 2008, Lacey Mosley became Lacey Sturm, and in 2011 gave birth to Josh Jr. I know what you’re asking; what does this have to do with her music? Well, it explains the emo stuff of their debut album, their hardcore leanings, and the softer, more love and Christian focused Memento Mori, released in 2009. It also explains the lack of new music in the past few years, other than an EP in 2010 (there’s supposedly an album coming out this year, but who knows). And it’s one of the more interesting musician stories of the past few years and one that we can all relate to.

While I do suggest you take a look at Flyleaf, particularly if you like a more aggressive or hard sound, I’ll be looking to Memento Mori for today’s track. As Mark pointed out, this album sounds like something Paramore would make. I’m not in complete agreement, but it is a reasonable enough comparison for you get an idea of how the album sounds. As for the track itself, “This Close” is definitely a good mix of old and new Flyleaf. Minus the creepy stalker-ish vibe of the chorus, it’s semi-emo, semi-angry song. It features a heavy bassline and a wailing guitar riff that sounds more at home on an Armor For Sleep album, it really showcases Lacey’s emotional vocals and range. I particularly like the dark but open instrumentation during the verses, which really helps add a punch to the chorus. But if you’re a fan of alternative rock, the entire album is a solid listen.

Track of the Moment: Chemicals by Armor for Sleep

Oh god, an alternative rock band. Or, if you’re an idiot, an emo band. But hold on there buddy, things aren’t as bad as they seem. This New Jersey-based band broke up in 2009, and broke my heart the same year, so there’s 2 good things for you right there (if you’ve already begun to resent me for this article. Or just resent me in general). But if you listen to the song, you’d see why it was so hard for me when they broke up. If the last few posts of mine haven’t told that I like a story-driven album, I like a story driven album. And Armor for Sleep is the prince of concept albums, behind The Mountain Goats (in terms of their ability to churn good ones out; not trying to diss Pink Floyd or The Beatles here). On their third and last album, they dropped the concept album idea, and just went for a series of self-contained ballads. And there are the vocals; Ben Jorgensen had this slight whine to his voice that was perfect for sad songs, and gave a sense of truth on positive songs. And their music felt so original in a genre that has become stagnant. The strange guitar effects, the melodies, the sense of composition, it all comes together amazingly like no other band in whatever genre you want to call them. I chose "Chemicals" because I feel like it shows off all of their best talents. So try them out, see if you like it. At the very least, their harder sound will be a nice change from the usual indie stuff posted here.