Review Summary: The most accomplished and near-perfect album from Paramore, filled with nuance, maturity, and just plain good-ass rock.
As the quiet drone of distortion and feedback climaxed into the powerful opening riff of
Careful, Paramore immediately quieted any worries that middle-school-me had about them not retaining their same good-old sound. In fact, in many ways
Brand New Eyes is a continuation of the heavier rock of
All We Know is Falling rather than the playful pop-punk of
Riot! Ultimately however, it’s its own beast, adding blend of gigantic scope and evocative emotion to a formula they had already made wonderful use of, and would prove to be their greatest album yet.
Right off the bat, the most profound difference between this album and the previous ones is the quality of the lyrics. The unique balance between angst and maturity that graces the majority of this album adds even more to Hayley Williams’ vocals, creating an otherworldly quality to who was already the best singer in the genre. As she croons “You can’t tell me to heal/And it hurts remembering how it felt to shut down,” as the rest of the instruments die down in
Careful, the listener is taken back to all the high school times of frustration and loss that may seem inconsequential but was so important at the time.
Such moments are peppered throughout the album, especially in the incredibly powerful closer
All I Wanted. In this track, Hayley sings -- no, pleas -- “All I wanted was you” with such emotion and intensity that it instantly becomes the most original and profound thing she could possibly say. It isn’t a cliche; it’s simply her truth. Even if the emotion of the lyrics and vocals doesn’t win you over, the band backs her up with such a gentle ferocity that they’ll have you wondering how a guitar could ever sound so heartbroken.
The penultimate song,
Misguided Ghosts is startling in its own way as well, but rather than being musically colossal, it’s the most stripped-down song Paramore had ever recorded up until that point. The lyrics here might be the best on the album, and Hayley’s soft delivery combined with the dual acoustic accompaniment makes the song a standout not just in style but in pure quality. Needless to say, the final two songs on this album provide one of the most emotionally devastating one-two punch finale in memory.
The album isn’t overclouded with such heavy-hearted solemnity, however. Songs like
Ignorance and
Playing God take the band back to familiar angsty territory, even if the songs feel much more musically mature than similar ones from Riot!
Ignorance is a slice of fiery anger with pounding percussion and taunting riffs, the whole thing climaxes in a caustic solo and building intensity until Hayley aptly sings “I must be on my way out.” Despite the similar lyrical content,
Playing God manages to sounds vastly different. Considerably more poppy than its predecessor, it’s filled with chiming guitars, catchy hooks and an atmosphere of disappointment; the track is a throwback to the pop-punk of Riot! with a slightly heavier heart.
Speaking of atmosphere, songs like
Brick by Boring Brick, a song of fantastical scope and fairy tale allusions with a fantastic bridge/outro to boot, and the aforementioned
Misguided Ghosts ooze with different sounds and variety, taking you away to far off worlds and making each song sound like it takes place on a different planet.
Well, enough beating around the bush. Let’s get to the obvious point of conversation on the album:
The Only Exception. The song itself became a surprise hit for Paramore, their first real hit, both for the band and the fans. Many fans (and Josh Farro) were frustrated with the amount of attention it received because of its dissimilarity to the rest of the band’s work, and that it was getting them a lot of “pop” attention when the band was certainly not a pop band. But let’s get down to it. Yes, the song is a pop song. Does that mean it’s different for the band? Yes. Does that mean it’s bad? No. Is it weird for Paramore? No. There was a sort of uproar due to its folky, acoustic sound, but Paramore has always had country/folk influences since growing up in Tennessee, and previous songs like “Franklin” and “When It Rains” have always seemed on the verge of going into this territory. So no, it’s not a huge leap. The song itself really is a beauty, crafted with care about the story of finding love after a lifetime of disillusionment. Dreamy production and an absolutely gorgeous bridge add up to a great Paramore song. Is it a highlight of the album? No, but I’m damn glad it’s on the album.
Now that the rant is over, we should be reminded of the two other pop-influenced songs,
Where the Lines Overlap and
Looking Up. Both are so similar is sound and quality that it’s hard to understand why they were placed right next to each other, and it kind of muddles the fact that they’re both really good songs in their own right. They both cover the same subject of uplifting spirits and the promise of tomorrow, and while it might come off as cheesy, the songs never seem uninspired and always sound truthful. So much in fact, that they might even get you smiling yourself and looking forward tomorrow even on a bad day. And isn’t that what it’s all about? The fact that these tracks are paired with the most lackluster track on the album
Feeling Sorry, which is pretty serviceable, just not much compared to all of the standouts surrounding it, doesn’t help the fact that the trio might get skipped by a trigger-happy hand on a controller.
The ultimate high of the album, aside from the absolutely riveting opener, is the surprising grace of
Turn It Off. Surrounded on all sides by singles, the track is positioned to be pure filler-material, but the disillusioned and extremely poignant lyrics combined with one of the catchiest riffs on the album and a unpredictable structure,
Turn It Off is catapulted into the stratosphere with Hayley’s vocals, and as she sings “Again” over and over again, we hope she’ll never stop. But, all good things must come to an end, and this does with an increasingly rhythmic chorus before fading out in an instrumental mini-jam, until all that’s left in what was a song of despair and worry is the hopeful chime of the guitars promising that all will be well.
Brand New Eyes features Paramore at their absolute best, merging the heavy rock of
All We Know, the pop-punk sensibilities of
Riot!, and a sudden shot of musical and lyrical maturity to the heart. It serves as their most nuanced, solid work to date, and while the self-titled while be more varied, this album by far has the best hit-to-miss ratio of any album they’ve yet to offer. And if they ever managed to top this one, the world’s about to become a very exciting place.
Brand New Eyes 9.5 (8.59)
Careful: 9.5
Ignorance: 9
Playing God: 8.5
Brick By Boring Brick: 9
Turn It Off: 9.5
The Only Exception: 8.5
Feeling Sorry: 7.5
Looking Up: 8
Where The Lines Overlap: 8
Misguided Ghosts: 9
All I Wanted: 9
