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Emeritus
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Last Active 01-03-23 11:21 pm
Joined 06-03-16
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| First Listen: Paramore's "After Laughter"
A track-by-track of my first listen of Paramore's new album since I probably won't be able to have a review up for a while and I wanted to let y'all know my thoughts and have them together for when I decide to write a full review.
Fuck I'm tired. | | 1 |  | Paramore
After Laughter
Hard Times: The first time I heard this song as the lead single, I was dismayed. It’s not like it was bad or anything, it was just everything I knew Paramore could be but didn’t want it to be. The chorus is still really cringey, but the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. Hayley’s vocals are great and the bridge and outro are genuinely cool. Pretty upbeat and fun, and I’d definitely turn the radio up louder if it came up.
7+/10 | | 2 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Rose-Colored Boy: What the fuck is that backing chorus thing? Vocals are pretty solid so far, but it doesn’t sound like anything not already covered by the previous singles. Chorus is pretty nice, bridge is also lovely, but I just feel like the formula for the album is already decided by now and I’m only two songs in.
6.5+/10 | | 3 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Told You So: This was the first thing off the new album to really click for me, both as a single and now after starting the album. The sound is at once familiar (i.e. clear Blondie influences) but fresh and original. The closest thing I can compare it to is M83’s “Junk. ”They have the potential the reinvent pop music if they do well, as long as the songs are as good as this and not the past couple.
8/10 | | 4 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Forgiveness: A more laid-back sound this time, but still keeping with the reggae-funk-something influences that we’ve heard before. There’s something very calming and pleasant about this one, it doesn’t stand out too much but it’s a nice change of pace and hopefully reflects more diversity to come in later tracks.
7.5-/10 | | 5 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Fake Happy: Speaking of diversity, that was unexpected. Oops, I spoke too soon. I thought they were gonna do something really different but there go the synths again. The chorus certainly sounds like something that’ll appear some other Paramore fans, the guitars almost pass for something on Brand New Eyes, but not enough to call it a rock song. On first listen, the song just sounds like a missed opportunity.
6.5-/10 | | 6 | | Paramore
After Laughter
26: Hopefully these acoustic guitars aren’t lying like last time. Sounds like we’re gonna have a different track this time, even the chiming additional guitars create a great sense of atmosphere. Ughhhh and those strings too. I think we have a winner here, folks. Her voice, paired with the melancholy but lovely instrumentation (a la “Hate to See Your Heart Break), add up to the best track so far, by far. And fuck that outro is gorgeous.
8.5+/10 | | 7 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Pool: Please don’t ruin the mood. Okay, good start. Not a jarring opening from the great ending of that last song, but still seems like it could end up being “just another song” on this album. Alright, not convinced by the verses but those choruses are really cool, and the wind-chime-like effects are neat af. Gonna need a few more listens to accurately judge this one, but for some reason this works a lot better than the other pop-based tracks for me.
7.5-/10 | | 8 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Grudges: My least favorite song off of Paramore’s s/t album was “Grow Up,” an album which I loved otherwise. It seems like that song was the seed of inspiration for much of this album. Of course the instrumentation is a lot more interesting on songs like these, and its better as a whole, but that whole poppy, generic chorus, meandering melody thing doesn’t do much more for me here than it did then.
6+/10 | | 9 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Caught in the Middle: Some definite reggae roots showing through this song, got a continuous simple riff running through most of the track that works surprisingly well. Chorus isn’t great but the song overall clicks with me for some reason. Goddamn her vocals are so nice even when the song doesn’t deserve them. Very solid bridge.
7-/10 | | 10 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Idle Worship: This song sounds very similar to a lot of stuff they’ve done before, like a conglomeration of every style they’ve done before with an emphasis on the less interesting ones. That “lalala” thing is kinda neat, I wish they’d let it breathe more. Oh there we go I guess. The bridges really are the things that save the songs on this album, aren’t they?
6.5-/10 | | 11 | | Paramore
After Laughter
No Friend: Okay, you’ve got me interested. Don’t let me go. This is fucking strange and I like it. Please don’t fuck this up Hayley. I don’t know what’s going on. This feels like a creepy interlude that’s gonna be cut through by a out of place chorus. Who’s singing? This is poor writing on my part, apologies, I’m just bewildered.
Whatever the fuck that was I sincerely enjoyed it.
8.5-/10 | | 12 | | Paramore
After Laughter
Tell Me How: Holy fuck this is lovely. Please just keep it simply. So much emotion and honesty in this one, likely about their recently departed band member. FUCK, don’t let those guitars ruin this. I swear to God. Actually, this instrumentation is shifting constantly and I really dig it. This might be the best song on the album with “26.” Great ending, props to them for ending it on such an unnerving note for an otherwise optimistic and upbeat album.
8.5+/10 | |
neekafat
05.12.17 | Never really done anything like this before, so let me know if y'all enjoyed it and if you'd like me to do it again for future releases.
Hope the writing isn't too hard to read, it's super stream-of-conciousness and unedited, I was literally writing it as I was listening to the entire album and stopped writing when the song stopped. | Divaman
05.12.17 | Very enjoyable. Thanks for the breakdown. | neekafat
05.12.17 | Thanks man, glad you liked it!
As a Paramore fanboy, I'm not sure how I'll feel about this down the line but I can safely say this is my least favorite album by them | BlushfulHippocrene
05.12.17 | Good stuff, Neeka, nice little descriptions. Still unsure what I think about it apart from I like it a lot more than the self-titled. (I know you loved that, though.) Super unoriginal, but I'm willing to let this grow on me. | NorwichScene
05.12.17 | 26 is my favourite too | brandontaylor
05.12.17 | i found the last two tracks to be the weakest for me, and my highlights were your weaker moments (rose-colored boy, grudges and idle worship) | BlushfulHippocrene
05.12.17 | I don't like 26 nearly as much as the acoustic cuts on Brand New Eyes. Strings are super nice, but the song's kinda just boring. I like Idle Worship a lot. | LethalPaintball
05.12.17 | im really digging it man, not a single track i think is bad
i even like fake happy a tad bit | TheCharmingMan
05.12.17 | On track 11 im pretty sure the guy you're talking about is Aaron Weiss from mwY | Sowing
05.12.17 | It absolutely is Aaron Weiss. Don't have documentation to back it up, but I'd know that voice from 1000 trained impersonators. | neekafat
05.12.17 | That's cool man! Glad you guys enjoyed the list, I wanna do one for Linkin Park's new album which should be a blast.
@blushful Yeah, idk 26 just did it for me, and I definitely think it'll grow on me too!
| neekafat
05.12.17 | @brandon Let's agree to disagree haha, but who knows how I'll end up feeling!
@Lethal, yeah I'm probably thinking a 3.5 for this based off of a first listen, probably gonna end up picking it up later today | ZombieToyDuck
05.12.17 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Laughter
wiki confirmed (whatever that's worth) it's Aaron on No friend
Also album was a real surprise, so much groove on this release. I dig it so much.
| Drifter
05.12.17 | Quality list | neekafat
05.13.17 | Thanks man!
Glad you liked it Shade, it's been growing on me quite a bit! | DORBUSCUS
05.14.17 | This is my least favorite from them too but still a great album | neekafat
05.16.17 | Is anyone's curious, here are my final ratings; they changed quite a bit from the initial ones
Hard Times: 7.5
Rose-Colored Boy: 7.5
Told You So: 8
Forgiveness: 7.5
Fake Happy: 7.5
26: 9
Pool: 8
Grudges: 7
Caught in the Middle: 7
Idle Worship: 7
No Friend: 8.5
Tell Me How: 8.5 |
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