Hayley Williams

Week 27: Taylor Swift- Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

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Here is another instalment of Taylor reworking her original albums after…well., you already know from the last reviews she was being held to ransom over her masters and found a way around it thanks to her solicitor and someone asking permission to use one of her songs, from the originals on television. I have enjoyed what is known as “Taylor’s Version” because everything is better. The vocals, the matured vocal delivery, the production, the professionalism, and the overall clean audio.

The opener is ‘Mine’, and immediately the album catches my ears for how much cleaner it sounds compared to the original, and I like Taylor’s more mature delivery. There is no teenage angst. The reworks stand out more because Taylor has collaborations, and Hayley Williams from Paramore is on ‘Castles Crumbling”.One of my favourites is ‘When Emma Falls in Love’- a soft piano ballad with tender but heart-aching vocals.

As you know from the originals, there was a lot of pent-up anger in her vocals. Still, on the reworks, she has changed that with tenderness and empathy, which is clearly on display in ‘Ours’, and her vocal delivery is done with more meaning now on ‘Enchanted’ as the track arrives at the bridge. There are even lyric changes, as found on another of my favourites, the full-on rock attitude of ‘Better than Revenge’ where she changes the song’s perspective to make the male the antagonist, rather than the female who originally was where she was slut-shamed. 

There is also a collaboration with Fall Out Boy on ‘Electric Touch’ where Taylor exchanges verse with Patrick Stump( Who also plays the guitar) before they sing the chorus together. There is room for the National’s Aaron Dessner to play multiple instruments across ten tracks. He also co-wrote ‘Electric Touch’ and ‘Foolish One’. The producer is, once again, Jack Antonoff, who made a mess of “Midnights” but gets the production on point this time. He plays multiple instruments on the record and even does some backing vocals.

I also enjoyed ‘Back to December’ and ‘Dear John’ simply for their vocal maturity. After all the shit she has been through with Scooter, you wouldn’t be surprised if her vocals displayed raw anger, but no, she has done these reworks like the mature songwriter she now is. Another thing worth mentioning on the above tracks is the new arrangements where Taylor can show more vocal diversity now. ‘Sparks Fly’ is the only track where Taylor could have improved. The rest of the album is brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough. I love these “Taylor’s Version” and am only a fan of her country days. That speaks volumes to just how good they have been so far.

Song recommendations: ‘Better than Revenge’, ‘Dear John’, ‘When Emma Falls in Love’

9/10

Week 7: Paramore- This is Why

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I first heard of Paramore entirely by accident. I was playing Saints the Row Third, and when you complete the game, their song ‘Misery Business’ features on the end credits, and I have been a fan of that song ever since. The next song I heard of theirs was ‘Ignorance’ while co-Djing in 2010 with a rock enthusiast. I also downloaded another song on Rocksmith to learn on lead, rhythm and bass guitar. It is called ‘Now’ off their self-titled record from 2013. 

So, there is a conflict about when the band formed. Some say it was 2002, whereas others have said 2004. Hayley Williams and Zac Farro formed the band, with Taylor York joining as the drummer in 2007. Taylor also attended the same school as Hayley and Zac. The weirdest thing about the band is Zac and Taylor and the past members were all signed to Fueled by Ramen, whereas front girl Hayley Williams has been signed to Atlantic since she was a teenager. So even though the band itself is signed to Fueled by Ramen, Hayley isn’t. Despite this, Hayley has been ever present., and featured on all the albums to date.

The last we heard from Paramore was last October when they co-headlined at When We Were Young in Las Vegas alongside My Chemical Romance. The band played a couple of songs post-2013, but most of the setlist were their usual emotional rock anthems.

So you would expect this album to be full of the usual emo material, but surprisingly, to my amazement, no. It appears that last October was nothing more than keeping their cards close to their chests to ensure no one knew what to expect from “This is Why”. The opener, which happens to be the title track, hits you by surprise. Although we have the vicious lyrics that Hayley was known for in the past, this time, it is over a quintessential indie instrumental. I was like, “Where the fuck has this come from?” I was taken aback that Paramore sounded more like an indie band from these shores. Hayley said the album is inspired by Bloc Party, who they are fans of, but I wasn’t expecting it. Some songs have an element of the kind of indie Franz Ferdinand is known for.

Does their aggressive songwriting fit in with this new direction in sound? Yes, yes it does. Indie is known as a rebellious genre. ‘Running Out of Time’ fits aptly with that whole Franz Ferdinand sound I was telling you about in the previous paragraph, and ‘C’est Comma Ça’ probably many won’t agree with me, but the intro riff has a touch of Hard-Fi’s ‘Hard to Beat’. Maybe, after reading that, you might go back, and hear what I mean. All I can hear is Hard-Fi on that. Again, ‘ Big Man’ is an indie track with riffs that the French band Phoenix likes to use. Yes, Phoenix might experiment with their sound, but they are known for indie. I liked ‘Big Man’ for going into that indie element because Phoenix is an exciting band. The indie songs on this album also have that typical Bloc Party riff by Russell Lissack.

The record is an exciting listen. Of course, there are the usual Paramore tracks, but they are fleeting. The lyrics are old school yet wiser, the subject matters are more political, and Hayley’s vocals show a lady who cannot be labelled as that sweet yet angry girl anymore. She has ditched that on “This is Why” and has delivered more of her soul.

Of course, the album ends in typical fashion with ‘Thick Skull’, your standard Paramore track. Overall, I am looking forward to where they head sonically, but I cannot wait to hear these songs performed live. Will it work alongside their current setlist? We are about to find out if they fit.

Song recommendations: ‘C’est Comme Ça’, ‘Big Man’, ‘This is Why’

8/10