Hayley Williams - Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party (July 28, 2025) • Page 28

There are some albums that I first experienced when I was unemployed and it took a long time to be able to listen to them again without kind of reliving the dread and unknown of that time. I’ll never forget how I felt in that time but glad that most of the albums during that time I can now listen to without such a black cloud hanging over them

on the opposite end, After Laughter came out and is connected to when I got hired for the company I currently work for so that’s fun. And don’t remind me when AL came out because I already want to die realizing that in this moment lol

 

Is that where I'm supposed to have my ego death

it's not even bachelorette only bachelor

 

This is what I get for googling "bachelor chorus fm" and not checking anymore

 

Mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, the songs are absolutely phenomenal, and I think it might conceptually be my favorite HW adjacent work, which is crazy bc I thought the same for This Is Why, PFA, AL, and S/T each time before that. With the exception of FFV/D, which was good but not better than PFA imo (or at the very least, not my kinda vibe), Hayley just keeps getting better and better as a songwriter and lyricist. It’s so inspiring and I admire her so much

On the other hand, I can’t get into this tracklisting at all. A ton of songs feel out of place for me. Especially the first two songs, which I adore, but just don’t make sense at all as openers. Another example is Love Me Different, which feels like it should be later in the tracklisting - it reminds me so much of like, CRJ’s When I Needed You, and that song works phenomenally as a closer. Brotherly Love would’ve worked really well as an opener or after a slower song and not after Love Me Different. Maybe I’m still in shock of listening to the separated singles versions a ton that my brain hasn’t solidified the tracklisting as it’s own thing, but it’s been very disorienting to love pretty much every single song individually but not really liking the flow as a whole.

 

For some reason I have trouble with a few albums that came out when I had COVID in 2022, that messed me up mentally (I have a really hard time isolating) as much as it did physically, and I still haven't really gone back to them.

 

cd arrived. first listen, parachute is devastating

 

Soccer Mommy’s Color Theory is my “Covid album”. I feel like the isolation really added to the album at the time but I rarely revisit the record as a whole now. Last time was probably back in lockdown times.

 

Jack and Hayley and Bleachers, that sounds so cool

 

Parachute is just ungodly good. I can see why she chose to hold that one back and let it have it's own moment. But if there's really (at least) 2 more songs coming, I'm kind of terrified to find out what else is coming

 

new post from Hayley on substack

i suppose i will always write about my own life but there’s definitely a sense that this last project was an exorcism or like a death rattle. it feels like all the shit i’ve been ruminating on from adolescence to about age 26 just came up and out, projectile-style. and thank god, cause it does no one good to jump over or run circles round the hole in the floor when you could just fix it. it’s nice when the painful growth is fruitful. it’s when it’s not that you have to wonder what you might’ve missed.

so, there’s a bit more promotional shit to do. i really want to play shows with this record, so… i don’t mind being outside. i’ll be picturing myself here, on this porch looking out at infinite shades of green. or in the creek, with my feet in the cold water. to answer the person at the Rough Trade signing: yes, i’m okay. a lot of things are true at once, like always. but i’m really actually good. that’s the craziest part.

 

Posted this in the band thread because she confirmed they are not broken up. But this was a good interview worth checking out.

Hayley Williams is my favourite band - The Face

 

Man, some of these are truly some of the best songs she’s ever written. And Parachute is incredible, wow.

 

It’s the last part of this post that I feel the most. Life can be absolutely bananas and awful but feeling good despite all of it? One of the best feelings ever.

 

It's wild how Parachute might be the best song on here, definitely top 5

 

Hayley Williams: Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

7.3 over at Pitchfork

 

Review reads like much higher than a 7.3, but I know Pitchfork has a tendency for that

 

the "chaos ridden inner space, turns out home is not a place" moment has really been hitting for me recently

 

I feel like her lyrics are weirdly underrated at this point

 

Parachute is probably my song of the year so far tbh

 

True Believer is still my favorite but Parachute is a very close second

 

I woke up today with like 4 different songs from this in my head, the chokehold is real