Review Summary: Hayley finally breaks through her glass ceiling and delivers her strongest solo effort to date. It might even be her best release, period.
With no disrespect to
Petals for Armor or
Flowers for Vases,
Ego marks the first time a Hayley Williams record has truly escaped Paramore’s shadow. The surprise release – a collection of seventeen "singles" – is the most confident sounding music of her entire career, easily clearing her previous solo albums and even most of her work with the famous pop-punk band. Here, she playfully manipulates vocal inflections, bends melodies to her whim, and casts a massive genre net. The songs strut and sway, as if they simply rolled off her tongue one morning despite the four year layover between this and her prior outing. There’s a palpable self-assuredness that pervades
Ego, giving it a sleek, polished, and utterly
complete feel that no other Williams effort, solo or otherwise, has been able to boast – an ironic feat given the release format. Amid stunning production and mixing to boot, Hayley’s voice sounds as crisp and capable as ever, floating atop each instrumental accent and ever-addictive hook. It’s gorgeous to behold.
The best moments come when Hayley leans into ambitious genre-melding or straight-up bops, and there are plenty of both here. ‘Kill Me’ boasts an infectious rhythm and even catchier chorus, while ‘Dream Girl In Shibuya’ is dreamy and lovelorn – both are massive pop highlights. On the experimental front, ‘Ice in My OJ’ is the best of many potential reference points: it's lightly hip-hop influenced, but also features blazing horns while practically breaking into full-throated screams. It’s all over the place, and yet somehow completely within Williams’ wheelhouse – a testament to her range, both vocally and creatively. Meanwhile, Hayley takes this slate of unconventional bangers and fills them with compelling lyrics. Take ‘True Believer’ for instance, which laments modern times ("All our best memories / Were bought and then turned into apartments / The club with all the hardcore shows / Now just a greyscale Domino's"), while also dissecting racism and religious hypocrisy (They say that Jesus is the way but then they gave him a white face / So they don't have to pray to someone they deem lesser than them").
Ego relentlessly contrasts styles within its scope, but Williams rises to the challenge by not only pushing her artistic and lyrical boundaries, but also somehow keeping everything under one harmonious roof. It’s the kind of thing only a seasoned songwriter could have pulled off, and here Williams gives us a masterclass.
Hayley Williams is front-and-center on
Ego, illustrating impressive vocal control, unprecedented lyrical depth, and the ability to pivot between styles and extreme inflections in a way that we’ve never witnessed from her before. The result is a smooth, glistening, experimental, and often
powerful pop record – something Hayley has not necessarily aspired for before, but that she nails effortlessly here. With these kinds of results, it’s hard not to wish this was an album so that it could benefit from a physical release, consideration for year-end lists, and other perks – but it’ll just have to suffice that we now have access to seventeen of the best songs she’s ever written.
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