Paramore are back. The emo pop-rock trio have returned with their first new music in five years, the title track from their newly-announced album This Is Why, which is set to arrive in February next year. The track takes sensibilities from 2017’s After Laughter while eschewing its glossier points, incorporating new wave and post-punk influences.
“It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last 3 or 4 years,” front person Hayley Williams said in a statement. “You’d think after a global pandemic of fucking biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something.”
Watch Paramore’s Video for ‘This Is Why’
For the accompanying video, filmed in Malibu, California, Turnstile front person Brendan Yates sat in the director’s seat. “It was so rad working with Brendan,” Williams said. “I’ve known the Turnstile guys for a little while and was so psyched to have our worlds collide in this way. There’s a cool kinship between the way our bands do things.”
This Is Why, Paramore’s sixth studio album, will arrive on Friday, 10th February 2023 via Atlantic Records. It was recorded in Los Angeles with Carlos de la Garza, who previously assisted with engineering and mixing 2013’s Paramore and 2017’s After Laughter.
After Laughter and its ensuing tour, the band went relatively quiet for a number of years. Williams released two solo albums during Paramore’s downtime: 2020’s Petals for Armor and 2021’s Flowers for Vases / Descansos.
Further Reading
Hear Spacey Jane Cover A Paramore Classic
Watch Billie Eilish And Hayley Williams Perform Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’ At Coachella 2022