November Music: Paramore's "Brand New Eyes"

Paramore's newest release, Brand New Eyes, is another solid release from a rapidly maturing band. Hayley Williams, who at 20 years old is already a veteran on the music scene, has one of the strongest female rock voices out there, rarely harsh and always perfectly expressive. Behind her, the rest of the band provides high-energy riffs and rhythms, similar to Riot! with a bit more polish. This album is hardly groundbreaking, and it doesn't quite have the innocent charm of All We Know Is Falling, but it is a great listen and a worthy addition to your modern rock arsenal.

The lyrics on this album are deeper than anything Paramore has written before. The subject matter deals with, for lack of a better term, more "grown up" issues. Many of these issues are personal, internal matters that nearly broke up the band in 2008. The maturity in the lyrics comes in their willingness to lay them all out on the table, and the reward comes in this album's ability to relate with older fans and rougher lives. There is still an optimism apparent in the album, but it is tempered with maturity and much less prone to cliché.

If there is a shortcoming in this album, it is the lack of musical innovation. The band rarely strays from their "tried and true" methods, and while they are even tighter and more well-produced on this album, it would have been nice to see them branch out a bit. Still, Hayley's voice, simultaneously huge and humble, carries this album, and for now most of us won't begrudge Paramore the formulaic musicality, because they sound great.

Besides, they are all still in their early 20's. They have plenty of time to explore and innovate when they grow up.

Staying Power!!!

A big part of album's value is in it's continued listen-ability, or Staying Power as I will call it from now on. Each album will be judged on a 1-5 scale, with a 1 meaning "wow, I never want to hear that again!" and a 5 meaning "It's still one of my favorites!"

To start the conversation, here are a few of the albums we've reviewed in the past:

Anberlin - New Surrender gets a 4 because it is still a tremendous listen, even a year later. It falls short of a 5 because of the voice of Stephen Christian. While his voice is unique and amazing, it is the sort of unique that you can suddenly tire of, for no apparent reason. Then you go back to it again and forget why you stopped listening to it in the first place.

Keane - Perfect Symmetry is at about a 1. My mother always said, if you don't have anything nice to say... (this album is more annoying each time you hear it).

Copeland - You Are My Sunshine gets a 2, because it isn't very memorable. It is a pleasant listen, but there is little in this album to keep you coming back for more. I might want to listen to it again at some point in the future, and I don't mind if I hear the songs again. In fact, if I were in a "Hey, I miss Copeland" mood, I might put this album in after Beneath Medicine Tree.