As a Paramore fan of 9 years, I was very excited to hear after member Jeremy Davis left the band in 2016, that Hayley Williams and Taylor York would still continue to be a band. I was even more excited to hear that a former member, Zac Farro, would be joining the band for their fifth album, "After Laughter," released May 12th.
After not hearing much about the progress of the album, only a few tweets here and there from Williams. Finally, after months of wondering when the new album would be released, the band released their single "Hard Times," as well as the music video for it. It caught many fans off guard including me, especially with the new sound Paramore has created. Instead of very angsty vibes and heavy use of guitar, the band has started using new pop techniques.
Then, "Told You So," another single and music video released, along with the announcement of the album release date. After hearing these two new singles, I couldn't have been more excited for the upcoming album.
The day finally arrived, and I am still over the moon about the new album. Paramore has evolved over the years, losing and gaining new members and changing up their sound. I was slightly hesitant to learn what the full album would sound like, but "After Laughter" is a new sound I would have never guessed Paramore would create. "Hard Times" and "Told You So" offer an 80's sound and is much different than anything Paramore has put out before in the music world.
Their last album, the self-entitled album, was focused on a mix of topics, and from romance to angst, to never losing hope in life. There were very few slow songs and often had some element of the heavy guitar use like most Paramore music, but "After Laughter" slows it down with "26," a song about not losing hope, but with more of an acoustic sound.
"After Laughter" has a way of bringing up more sad topics like loss of friendship or self-doubt, but delivers them in a way that makes you wonder why you were sad about them anyway. I was thoroughly impressed with how each song seemed to tell a story about the band or Williams, and I definitely felt this album was more raw in a sense of sharing true feelings that the band experienced.
Overall, I give "After Laughter," a five out of five stars. I was not expecting to love this album as much as I do, and Paramore's new sound is worth listening to. They offer a new side of the band, and show that change is a good thing, and order to move forward in life or in music, change is inevitable.
