When Paramore approached the recording of their self-titled fourth album they were a band in transition. During the four years since album number three, Brand New Eyes, the emo-punks had lost two of its founding members. The remaining trio, however, battled on, and in doing so found a new, more mature sound. Here’s the story of how Paramore became masters of reinvention.
Listen to Paramore’s self-titled album here.
The backstory: “There was nothing fun about this part of our lives”
By the time Paramore released their self-titled album, in April 2013, the Tennessee pop-punks were veterans of the scene. And yet they were barely into their 20s. While their peers were worrying about their high-school exams and dates for prom, Paramore were releasing albums to major critical acclaim and tearing up stages on the Warped Tour. And by the end of the 2000s, the emo titans had sold millions of albums and packed stadiums the world over. But growing up is hard for any teenager, and Paramore were doing it under the full scrutiny of the media and the public.
The loss of founding members drummer Zac Farro and his brother, guitarist Josh, was a painful one for frontwoman Hayley Williams. As she explained to HelloGiggles in 2013, “The first few months of going through that, especially when the press outlets got a hold of the story and the blog posts and stuff, it was a nightmare.” The “blog posts” were how Josh Farro chose to air his frustrations to the world, essentially chastising Williams for being the only band member signed to Atlantic Records while the rest of the group were part of the Fueled By Ramen stable. It’s a situation Paramore have always been pretty open about. Nevertheless, Williams admitted, “I could not leave my house in Franklin without seeing a million people… who thought they knew the story better than I did. It sucked – there was nothing fun about this part of our lives.”
