Paramore Returns to Studio with More Guitars and ‘Animal’ Drums

Paramore has reunited to work on their sixth album, marking the band’s first release in five years.

Following up singer Hayley Williams’ latest solo effort, Petals for Armor in 2020, and 2021 follow up Flowers for Vases / Descansos, the trio of Williams, Taylor Yoko, and Zac Farro have regrouped and relocated to Los Angeles to record new music.

“We wrote and tracked something we loved and it actually surprised us,” said Williams in a recent interview. “We kept joking it was all downhill from that point, but thank God we’ve been surprised a lot throughout this whole thing. I’m always waiting for the moment for us to know we’re onto something new and we’re not just rehashing the same shit.”

Williams added, “It was ‘Ain’t It Fun’ for our self-titled record, and ‘Hard Times’ or ‘Told You So’ for ‘After Laughter.’ It’s not about it feeling like a hit so much as it’s a scary, exciting feeling that you’re treading uncharted waters. It keeps you curious. We got to feel that feeling early on this time.”

Moving away from the more pop albums of their previous releases, including After Laughter in 2017 and Paramore in 2013, Williams says the new muse is returning to heavier guitar and drums and will not be a “comeback ‘emo’ record.”

“The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make,” said Williams. “Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different. We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start: More emphasis back on the guitar, and Zac should go as ‘Animal‘ [Muppets] as he wants with drum takes.”

Photo: Lindsey Byrnes