Paramore bandleader Hayley Williams has shared a note on social media reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the band’s self-titled fourth album. Arriving on April 5th, 2013, the follow-up to 2009’s Brand New Eyes came after the departure of guitarist Josh Farro and drummer Zac Farro (who returned to the fold in 2016. Featuring songs like ‘Now’, ‘Ain’t It Fun’ and ‘Still Into You’, it saw the band draw on a wider array of influences, moving away from the pop-punk of their earlier work.
“10 years ago we put out a record that took a lot of guts and self-determination to make,” Williams wrote in a post shared to the band’s Twitter page earlier today. Mainly because after losing 2 members of the band there was so much discourse around whether or not the band could make anything worthwhile – let alone stay together.”
“The story of Paramore has been rife with reality show-style drama. Well, until the last 6 or 7 years. It’s really great to be able to look back from where we are now, knowing the story didn’t end when some said it would,” Williams continued. “If all that led to our Self-Titled album hadn’t happened, we’d be the most boring band of all time. If we hadn’t been forced out of our trauma-bonded comfort zones, we would’ve never known what we might be capable of.”
Williams went on to thank producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen for “expanding our musical vocabulary and believing we could be more than a band from one specific scene,” Carlos de la Garza for “engineering the shit out of the album,” and Failure’s Ken Andrews for “mixing it, singing backups on it, and being a musical hero to us.”
“Taylor and I wrote these songs having no idea if people would accept a reformed, more liberated version of Paramore. Our fans not only accepted but championed our rebirth. Thank you for allowing us the room for creative risk and for keeping this story going. We love you. Paramore forever.”
In November last year, Paramore changed the album’s artwork on streaming services. It originally featured a photo of Williams, guitarist Taylor York and former bassist Jeremy Davis, who left the band in 2015. The updated artwork features Williams shot from behind, wearing a denim jacket with the words “grow up” on the back.
Paramore have released two more albums since their self-titled 2013 record: 2017’s After Laughter and This Is Why in February this year.
Further Reading
Paramore Perform ‘Misery Business’ For First Time Since Its Retirement
Paramore Return, Announce New Album ‘This Is Why’ and Share Title Track
