Album Of The Week - 28th September : Paramore - 'brand new eyes'

There are so many albums out this week I am going to need two further blog posts to mention all the other albums worth checking out. There was never really any doubt in my mind however about which one should be my album of the week!

'brand new eyes' is the third studio album from Paramore and the first to be produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot). Since the release of the highly successful second album 'Riot!' in 2007 there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of the band. Talk of internal issues in the band and cancelled shows led to a number of people believing that they were going to breakup. I guess this is inevitable for a band who hit the big time at such a young age and still had a lot of growing up to do. Thankfully they have managed to come out of the other side and work out all their differences and I believe this album has benefited from that experience. The name itself comes from their new perspective on life and on each other and the letting go of past struggles.

Album openers "Careful" and "Ignorance" pick up where 'Riot!' left off with the high energy hooks to get you moving. They couldn't keep up that high pace for the entire album though and many of the higlight on this album come in the reflective lulls provided by the likes of "The Only Exception" and brilliant album closer "All I Wanted Was You". Musically they are tighter than ever and Hayley Williams vocals just keep getting stronger possible standing out even more in the quieter moments on the album. As you would expect from a band that has done a lot of growing up since their last album the sound is more mature and there as a greater sense that they have confidence in what they are doing.

Lyrically there are obvious references to the difficult times the band have been through over the past couple of years. Perhaps most obviously this is seen in "Looking Up" with the lines "God knows the world doesn't need another band/But what a waste it would've been/I can't believe we almost hung up".

I'm not sure I could say I think this is their best album to date. They are definately a band who are progressing, still developing their sound and perfecting their art. I am glad that they have made it this far and excited to see what they come out with in the future. I'm also excited that I have tickets to see them at Wembley Arena in December (although less so about YouMeAtSix supporting them!). I definately recommend you checking out this album.
Paramore – brand new eyes