Paramore ‘Brand New Eyes’

Paramore’s new album ‘Brand New Eyes’ is intrigued me for a number of reasons. Firstly it harks back to their debut album ‘All We Know’ with element of ‘Riot!’ thrown in, and secondly it contains a genuine ballad, something you may not automatically associate with the band.

However this ballad (’The Only Exception’) is brilliant. Hayley’s voice and the simple melody combine to deliver a somewhat lullaby style love song. The blend of the guitars and Hayley’s voice is perfect. Accompany this with beautiful lyrics and you get a simple,brilliant song.

Opening track ‘Careful’ begins slowly but very quickly picks up and kicks off the rest of the album. The first single from the album ‘Ignorance’ is still a standout track along with ‘Where the Lines Overlap’. The latter of these songs contains a genuine ’singback’ experience which you cannot help but join in with as you listen to it.

Whilst there is only one ‘love song’ as such not all of the album is as heavy on bass guitars,drums and quick tempo. ‘Misguided Ghosts’ has a simple melody relying on two acoustic guitars and Hayley’s voice. This song was a suprise when I first heard it, as it’s not something I’d expect to hear on Paramore’s album. However after several listens I decided I liked this song. In fact it’s one of my favourites from the album.

The title of ‘favourite song’, has to go to the second to last track on the album (if you’re including the bonus track) ‘All I Wanted’. The song itself builds up slowly, with almost a minute of just two basic guitar lines. Then the electric guitar and drums are added to the mix and the song cements itself in the mind. The electric guitars disappear for the verse before returning for the chorus, at which point Hayley raises her voice and pure emotion floods the song along with the song’s brilliant sound.

The album also contains a bonus track of ‘Decode’. This song is one which band recorded for Vampire book-turned-film ‘Twilight’, and is still as haunting as it was when I first heard it.

Overall this is definately Paramore’s best album yet. Twelve songs, all brilliant. Some better than others but that’s the way these things go. So my reccomendation? Go out,buy the album and see the band through “Brand New Eyes.”