 | Tracklist:
1. "Careful"
2. "Ignorance"
3. "Playing God"
4. "Brick by Boring Brick"
5. "Turn It Off"
6. "The Only Exception"
7. "Feeling Sorry"
8. "Looking Up"
9. "Where the Lines Overlap"
10. "Misguided Ghosts"
11. "All I Wanted"
Release Date: 09/29/2009 | |
| | other reviews | Adam Knott CONTRIBUTOR (4)
The band behind Williams takes a huge step in the right direction; Hayley takes about 5.... | dylantheairplane (4)
brand new eyes, is not a record that will go down in history, but shows excellent music from a once ... | David James Young (4)
From emergencies to Edward Cullen, Paramore have come up trumps on their third - and arguably best -... | Channing Freeman STAFF (3.5)
A slightly safe album from one of the most popular bands out there right now, but it's still great.... | 117 (David) (3)
Like finding gems in a coal mine, they are few and far, but they are gems after all.... | ScorpionStan (3)
Paramore gets comfortable, and thus the riot has ended.... |
On 33 Lists
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| Summary: While Paramore should probably be reaching a little mo-whoah oh oh-ore, brand new eyes is a solid and SERIOUSLY catchy record that will increase the legend of Paramore. |
Paramore have achieved a lot as a band in the few short years of their existence. They became “scene” icons with their first record, All We Know is Falling, and with the release of Riot! (particularly the single “Misery Business”) they became a bonified phenomenon. This is due in almost complete part to one Hayley Williams, who in addition to being a surprising “sex” symbol and also a popular Christian role model (yes, apparently they can coexist), has one of the most audacious and hooky voices since Avril Lavigne first came onto the scene. Most likely because of her massive importance to the bands success, Paramore as a unit (also including Josh and Zac Farro, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York) nearly succumbed to the pressure all rising bands face and were close to breaking up during the time leading up to brand new eyes. Instead of prematurely ending however, they channeled their frustration into the record. What does that mean exactly?
The most immediate difference on brand new eyes is how much more bitter and cold the lyrics are. While there was some pre-madonna angst and venom on songs like “For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic” and “Misery Business”, brand new eyes is filled to the brim with spite. While the novelty of this is fairly large, and hearing Hayley sing with a lot more emotional investment in the songs is worth the price of admission, some of the magic from previous albums. The songs are still ridiculously catchy and easy to sing along to, but at times you’ll be wondering if you really want to be singing along to lines like “Well if God’s the game you’re playing then we’ll have to get acquainted/Because it has to be so lonely to be the only one whose Holy”.
Musicially the band stays within their boundaries fairly well, doing more but never really branching out. As both a blessing and a curse, its hard to fault the band for doing what they do well and little else. The riffs are infectious and the drums will be fun to play on Rock Band, and the songs occasionally have extra flourishes that keep them distinctly different from each other. “Misguided Ghosts” sounds a whole lot like a Swell Season song, and despite Williams overpowering the subtle mood of the song at times, it has flashes of brilliance. “Looking Up” delivers on the promise of a “Misery Business” sequel, being less dramatic than most of the songs and more upfront and hard-hitting then most of its sisters on the album. Songs like “Playing God”, “Looking Up” and “Where the Lines Overlap” struggle to be individual, and they cause the record to drag when they appear.
The best songs on the album are built on Williams vocals as always however, and single “Ignorance” is a good example. While a fairly unique song within their discography already, William’s deadpan-to-outraged delivery creates sense of tension that is contagious. Closer “All I Wanted” assuredly is the most melodramatic tune the band had released (with some interesting parallels to Say Anything’s “Plea”), but Williams heartfelt performance and cries combined with the bands perfect sense of dramatic timing makes the song incredibly impacting. Similar is the bonus track “Decode”, which while not exactly meant to fit in with the record still stands as one of their best songs, and its inclusion as an extra gives the album a bit more credibility.
For all the praise I can heap on Williams and the band, a few key things hold the album back from being anything truly great. An insistence on staying within a few carefully defined borders really keeps a band that could create something special way too in line, and it bears way too many similarities to its predecessors to be much more than just another Paramore album. While it drops a lot of the fun of older material for a more serious, mature approach, even Adam Downer would agree that a lot of previous charm the band had came from the fun they seemed to be having. However, by sheer strength of will the band has salvaged an album that could have just been a derivative mess and created something pretty damn good in the process, and for that brand new eyes should be praised while we await something even greater from these boys (and girl).
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
im giving the band some doubt and giving this a 3.5 in the review
edit also i didnt read chans review to try to not copy stuff from him but we are twins so idk its probably unavoidable
Digging: Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished | | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
summary is pure win.
also, Hayley Williams, who in addition to being a surprising “sex” symbol and also a popular Christian role model (yes, apparently they can coexist)
lest not forget thy greatness, mandy moore.
Digging: Modern Life Is War - Witness | | |
great review.
Digging: Mos Def - The New Danger
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Tend to agree with this one a lot more (although differences are scarce)
Digging: The Red Chord - Fed Through the Teeth Machine | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Two staff reviews, fancy.
Digging: Vanilla Ninja - Blue Tattoo | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Brand New Eyes just cement Paramore's historical rise to supremacy with this grandiose and extravagant final piece of the puzzle. The epic trilogy is finally complete, the stage has already been set to the end of the world as we know it...... and there is really nothing left for these Gladiators to accomplish as every other band ultimately falls underneath the sheer crushing power and vigor of ...Paramore.
Digging: Deep-Pression/Exethersis - Train Exeter To D.P. State | | | Album Rating: 3.5
You mean Hayley, not Paramore
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
haha balls i felt so good about making it into an epic tale at the end
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ya
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Now the trilogy is over the world mind as well engage in mass honor suicide.
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Two staff reviews, fancy.
Daisy's getting 4
Digging: Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
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Hopefully one of them is below a 4.
Digging: Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
Im giving it a 3
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Awesome.
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its bona fide.
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"Two staff reviews, fancy"
Nah, MyNameIsChan & Iluvatar is really just the same person with 2 separate personalities. We like to call it 'The United States of John Freeman'
Digging: Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Chanson is catchier and has brevity though.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
it's also french for song
Digging: Hooded Menace - Fulfill the Curse | | |
"it's bona fide"
Yeah, I noticed it to... And even stopped for a split second thinking Hanson was going for some sort of comedy angle with "bonified" being some sort of double entendre!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
boner-fied.
Digging: Will Smith - Willenium | | | |
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