At 17 tracks, Paramore’s self-titled release seems like it should also be a textbook victim of its creators’ self-indulgence — but in fact it comes off like the great Blondie-indebted 21st-century new-wave album that No Doubt were trying to make with 2012’s Push and Shove.
Paramore is an assured and confident record. For every contemplative minute of the LP, there's three more minutes spiralling in the eye of a rock storm.
Paramore is a veritable pop opera about a band reborn, phoenix-like from the ashes of a broken lineup, better and stronger than any previous incarnation.
Paramore is the rare record on which a band clearly wants to assert itself as a serious artistic force and actually succeeds.
Paramore is both the band’s most polished and messiest album, which somehow pays off.
An hour long, with multiple track titles that start with the word "Interlude" and a song that's a sequel to a chiming ballad from two albums ago, Paramore is an ambitious album by necessity: It's the test that the band still exists.
The influence of new blood mixed with Paramore’s own distinct sound has created a vibrant, melodic record with sing-along choruses, and although it flirts with the softer side of the rock spectrum it’s still one ballsy album.
Under the fiery willpower, Paramore’s guts are still intact, and they deliver post-emo pop metal with a verve that’s unmatched.
Paramore 2.0 maintain their signature post-emo pop-metal gusto and added a Stefani-Clarkson elasticity that at times make this feel like a solo debut.
This may not be what we were expecting, and it may not be the Paramore that we’ve come to know and love. But, at the same time, here are a band still discovering who they are, and this album may stand as an important step on that path.
Paramore have always been more pop than their fans may like to admit, and this mainstream rebirth feels like a transitional step to something gigantic.
The slightly disjointed nature of the 17 tracks and lyrics that could still stand to mature hopefully make this record a stepping stone for Paramore 2.0., leaving fans satisfied yet more intrigued for what might lie ahead.
The commercial emo that has earned Tennessee's Paramore platinum sales is still present on their fourth album, as are the unremarkable ballads, but there's also a new willingness to try other genres.
You’d think the remaining trio, led by singer Hayley Williams, would come back swinging. What we get instead, though, is a parade of beige pop by numbers that even Taylor Swift would turn down for being too generic.
Paramore shift gears with their fourth studio album release, self-titled. Gone are those anthem emo and punk aspects found in the bands previous entries, instead focusing on a blend of new wave, synth and pop rock to bring together a new identity and sound as the band enters the 2010s.
An album that really demonstrates just how a band can grow with their audience, Self-Titled experiments with sounds influenced from a variety rock and pop genres, throwing the band into new territory and ... read more
Not quiiite as crazy about this one as I was with “Brand New Eyes”, and I think I slightly prefer “This Is Why” over this too, but Paramores self-titled is a fun asf album that has just as much drive and personality as their other albums, even if it is in a bit more of an accessible sound. It does kinda suffer from that a bit, as I think the songs on here do take a bit of a more boring sound as the album goes sadly. But generally I think that the highs on here are still ... read more
This album so far is pure bliss
Edit: and I definitely still agree, this thing is pretty great. It has a pretty mediocre ending and many tracks followed a pretty obvious formula but I still came out loving the vast majority of them.
meh. doesn't hit the same as other Paramore albums for me, just feels a bit more plain and boring.
Still not a Paramore fan. Not bad just boring. There's nothing here I haven't already heard a thousand times before.
my Paramore phase was kinda crazy because when i woke up from that phase i just kinda realised that Paramore aren't really as good as i thought they were, still absolutely love this album tho
1 | Fast in My Car 3:42 | 87 |
2 | Now 4:10 | 83 |
3 | Grow Up 3:50 | 83 |
4 | Daydreaming 4:31 | 81 |
5 | Interlude: Moving On 1:30 | 76 |
6 | Ain't It Fun 4:56 | 93 |
7 | Part II 4:41 | 90 |
8 | Last Hope 5:09 | 87 |
9 | Still into You 3:36 | 93 |
10 | Anklebiters 2:17 | 83 |
11 | Interlude: Holiday 1:09 | 73 |
12 | Proof 3:15 | 82 |
13 | Hate to See Your Heart Break 5:09 | 83 |
14 | (One of Those) Crazy Girls 3:32 | 82 |
15 | Interlude: I'm Not Angry Anymore 0:52 | 75 |
16 | Be Alone 3:40 | 77 |
17 | Future 7:52 | 86 |
#2 | / | Alternative Press |
#4 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#6 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#10 | / | Red Bull |
#15 | / | A.V. Club |
#21 | / | The Guardian |
#58 | / | PopMatters |
#74 | / | eMusic |