paramore - after laughter - recording and anticipation

It's got sort of 1975 vibes about it, too. And, um, "Cherish." Lovely, though.

Fake Happy is my immediate favourite. I love how those synths come in after that misleading intro.

No Friend is the only one I'm not really into. I don't think they really pulled off what they were going for. It's the only misfire on the album though, everything else sounds so good.

think of "no friend" as a dark inverse coda to "idle worship" bc... well, it is, but i think those are the terms on which it works

Pool is my favourite at the moment, but the first seven tracks are all pretty fantastic

No Friend would probably be fine if it were like a minute, doesn't really need to be longer than the track it's an outro to

is that Taylor singing "No Friend"?

that is aaron weiss from the band mewithoutyou

http://nocountryfornewnashville.com/2017/05/11/review-paramore-5-10-17-at-exitin-photos/#more-84799

that setlist :)

i just filed my review so i feel like now i can say that i don't get caramanica's

i find it hard to get into these guys, a couple of amazing songs aside

I get the gist of Caramanica's review; he pretty much voices all of my initial reservations about this album (too schticky, a waste of a great rock singer). I do think the tone is off, though. He isn't really giving the band any credit for their range (he brushes off the s/t album), and seems to box them in with a style of music they aren't interested anymore. It shouldn't be any great shock that bands can evolve over 10 years

and using synths isn't a touchstone of '80s bands (also, after three listens, I don't hear an egregious use of synths; they're more for the occasional garnish).

a waste of a great rock singer

i think listening to the album basically dispatches this criticism

xpost Yeah, definitely seems more sophisti-pop.

first couple of listens and i'm not really feeling this at all. it did take a few plays for say-they-say-they-told-meeeyyy to get its hooks into me though

off the bat i'm liking idle worship, i like the tension in the vocals there

caught in the middle - wtf is this ace of base garbage?

I generally like Caramanica, but this line -- "some of her essential grit is lost to the machines" -- I mean, talk about your '80s revivalism. It's like reading Rolling Stone in 1983.

hard times

First listen to this, and it was really disheartening. I'm sure it will grow on me, because the songs are solid and Hayley brought her A game. But I find the whole Wedding Singer cosplay thing insufferably tacky, and all those brittle '80s polyrhythms just sound shitty and one-trick to me.

After two listens, I like the first few songs very much (which includes the two that had been released already), but I'm not hearing much in the way of hooks in the rest of it. Will continue to listen though.

y'know I really appreciate how few straight-up love songs HW writes

enjoying this on first listen

i take it the eh-eh-eh vocals and mention of 'hopeless places' on idle worship are a nod to rihanna?

Can we please get a Paramore/1975 world tour? Pretty please? :)

I think we should crowdfund brad a ticket for the cruise

this definitely falls off after Pool in a way the s/t didn't really despite being 20 minutes longer, but the good half of this sure is great

something about the way the chorus in Pool comes in gets me every time

I'm in!

xpost

i'd agree if i didn't love "caught in the middle" and "idle worship" at this point (also "tell me how" is their best closer imo). "grudges" is prob the only miss and it has a great bridge

xp

who or what is 'tell me how' about? (i am dim and haven't followed the band's history or relationships)

no idea. pretty easy to fold "tell me how" onto any kind of breakup though

i love 'grudges' - it reminds me of all the cure and trashcan sinatras and smiths that i didn't listen to in middle school

who or what is 'tell me how' about? (i am dim and haven't followed the band's history or relationships)

― del esdichado (NickB), Friday, May 12, 2017 12:10 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no idea. pretty easy to fold "tell me how" onto any kind of breakup though

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Friday, May 12, 2017 12:11 PM

It's about my despair at knowing Taylor doesn't care I'm alive

unsurprisingly I like all of this now, though the closing trio sounds like it belongs on a longer / more ambitious record.

it's one hall of a jolt when spotify starts playing 'fast in my car' straight afterwards

It's about my despair at knowing Taylor doesn't care I'm alive

― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 12, 2017 9:14 AM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes exactly

unsurprisingly I like all of this now, though the closing trio sounds like it belongs on a longer / more ambitious record.

Yeah, I really like the sequencing here, how it starts with all the knockout backyard barbecue tracks and gradually works its way into sprawlier ("less grounded," in Caramanica speak) territory. "No Friend" does so much to anchor the record; I'm so glad they didn't cut it.

tbh I'd like this album a ton more if it had like, another 10-20 minutes of material on it, even uneven material, just to better balance that big mass of polyrhythmic 80s stuff and put it in perspective. That was part of what i loved about the s/t one, how it worked as both a pop record and an exploratory endeavor. But historically most of their albums have been pretty lean so I guess this is a return to form in that way

"Forgiveness" is wonderful and the best take on the very very overexposed 80s soft-pop thing I've heard in a long time

aw man, i just made a post to this thread and the android app ate it. trying again:

Despite the talk of this not being like a classic emo paramore album, i think if you rearranged it for crunchy guitars and more soaring vocal lines, this would sound more like brand new eyes than self-titled.

Ok, that worked. My other thought in the eaten post was that i really like all her little vocal strains and squeaks in Idle Worship.

hope folks who like this make their way to Flock of Dimes stat

Despite the talk of this not being like a classic emo paramore album, i think if you rearranged it for crunchy guitars and more soaring vocal lines, this would sound more like brand new eyes than self-titled.

― how's life, Friday, May 12, 2017 9:48 AM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is exactly what i thought when i first heard it. "fake happy" -> "26" is like going back in time to brand new eyes

flock of dimes is great not sure i understand the relationship

tbh I'd like this album a ton more if it had like, another 10-20 minutes of material on it

Yeah I think this is what I was trying to get at, there's a pretty broad sonic canvas here that could have used a S/T type length to explore. but y'know "leaves you wanting more" is one of those good problems

i doubt this'll get mewithoutyou any new fans but if any of y'all like "no friend" and are unfamiliar i highly recommend getting into mewithoutyou

i think that will be youwithoutme tbh

Otm about the Brand New Eyes feel

Also about mewithoutyou being very good

Really digging this, especially the first half.
The '80s pop revivalism doesn't bother me at all here, cuz that guitar player has it FIGURED OUT how the jerky arpeggios of brittle new wave relate to African high life guitar

i.e. he's studied his English Beat

lol, I definitely gave Special Beat Service a spin in the last week.

hard times