Paramore takes a look through Brand New Eyes

Last year, many Paramore fans were wondering what the future would hold for the Tennessee rock quintet. Internal band turmoil got to the point where they needed to take a step back from touring to regroup. Lead singer Hayley Williams wrote on their official website; "the break will give that band a chance to get away and work out our personal issues”. They took full advantage of the time off, mended relationships and started touring again alongside bands like No Doubt, Jimmy Eat World and The Sounds.

The band is back with their 3rd full length CD “brand new eyes”. Topping the success of “RIOT!” will be a difficult task, but Paramore is definitely up for the challenge. On its first days sales in the UK, it was #1 on the UK iTunes chart and in the US it's looking like it will be the #1 release of the week beating out music diva, Mariah Carey

On first listen, you can hear the growth of vocalist Haley Williams, but also from the band, Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar), Zac Farro (drums), and Taylor York (rhythm guitar). Lyrically they appear to be much stronger when compared to angst ridden vocals in RIOT!. Brand New Eyes definitely touches on more personal issues such as the band rift, falling in and out of love and their religious views. The album has a bit of everything from a stripped down “Misguided Ghosts” to the high energy debut single “Ignorance”.

One of the standout songs off “brand new eyes” would have to be “All I Wanted”. Lyrically it's quite simple, but musically, it’s just what you would want from Paramore. Haley has found her voice and this song is proof of that. From the soothing verses to the hard hitting chorus “All I Wanted” is a showcase of just how much they’ve grown. No matter how many times I listen to it, there is a point towards the end of the song where the band cuts out and it's just Hayley singing; I get goose bumps each time.

Paramore kicked off their tour Tuesday night in California to rave reviews even though Hayley was struggling with her voice to the point where she could no longer continue. No worries though, the band played on with its sixth member, the crowd.

Final thoughts? This album will most likely be in my top 5 albums of the year. It’s nice when you can actually hear the growth of a band, especially one so young. They definitely have bright futures ahead of them and the great thing is they realize just how lucky they are, just take a look at some of the lyrics from “Looking Up”

Could have given up so easily
I was a few cheap shots away from the end of me
Taken for granted, almost everything that I would have died for
Just yesterday, Just yesterday….

God knows the world doesn’t need another band,
But what a waste it would’ve been!
I can't believe we almost hung it up
We're just getting started