Paramore - This is Why (Review!)

I am late to the Paramore party, but this week I sat down and finally had a listen to their latest album This Is Why, which was released this year on the 10th of February.

This Is Why is Paramore’s sixth studio album, and one that fans have been waiting for, for six years! It is an album that fuses styles of music new and old, both in Paramore’s discography and in a wider context of genre. There is a largely 80s synth pop sound to the album, and in the first few seconds had thinking “hm, this sounds like something Bowie would do”.

It’s a good album, but it could have been great, and this is why...

The album covers the feeling of making mistakes and learning from them. It’s an album that captures personal growth in a whimsical fashion, with the use of repetition with both lyrics and instrumentation. Each song is crafted incredibly well and is equally as enjoyable to listen to individually. However, when you put them together, there’s eleven tracks that are mostly the same sound. A repetitive album is somewhat tedious to listen to, and it’s hard to properly review an album when you have the same thing to say about every song.

However, repetition is a definitive feature of some genres, such as punk, and is something that’s becoming prominent in modern pop music. When it’s done right can be effective. The songs on This Is Why that use repetition well are You First, Figure 8 and Thick Skull. The reason why it works better in these more so than the others is because these songs take time to tell a story. The verses have been thought out and express what the songs are trying to say.

Figure 8, for example, has lyrics that touch on issues such as changing and losing yourself for the sake of someone else. The repetition is used to expressed anger at yourself, being fully aware that you have a toxic habit, wanting to control the urge, and then being annoyed that you did it again.

Thick Skull has a change of tone from the rest of the album. The music is less bouncy, but softer to begin with. It talks about being caught up and figuring out where you’re going wrong. The music then kicks in fully, and although it’s still not as positive as the rest of the album, it’s still got the bounce in the rhythm. The lyrics continue to tell the story. The repetition only covers breaks the parts of the song apart and then goes to a slightly heavier crash in the song, making it an effective bridge. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album, and a strong one to end with.

Liar is song that stands out most to me. It’s a lot softer than the rest of the album. The feeling that is gives is melancholic nostalgia. It keeps the whimsical instrumentation and walks me through a story of self-sabotage. I find it not only to be a well-written song, but an honest one.

As said before, This Is Why is a well-written album. I find elements of old songs such as Monster, Brick By Boring Brick and Playing God appear throughout multiple songs. However, it keeps to the new sound of Paramore, which reflects where they are as a band now. I appreciate that about the album.

Although each song is a good song, the similarities between songs brings the enjoyment of the album. It’s a lot better than other repetitive albums I’ve had to review. This might be a me problem, as I’m haunted with the knowledge that Paramore can do, and have done, more varied sounds.

This Is Why is out now, I give it an 8/10.