wow i have never been happier to hit "save album" on spotify wowowowow happy release day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Y'all, I know it's still wayyyyyyyyyy too early to be saying this, and it's probably just release night hysteria, but I'll be damned if in this moment right now I don't think the AOTY just dropped.
besides hard times and told you so which i both really love - pool - caught in the middle - idle worship i'm on "no friend" rn and it is reallllly interesting. it feels like some dark-pop interlude. kinda reminds me of a mix of dredg/circa music, with pete wentz-like yelling in the background. i really like it. "tell me how" definitely sounds like a closer. oh, i like the guitars in this one. reminds me of Foals a lot.
Just went on a night drive with my best friend and we both concurred that this record is awesome. He's not even a huge Paramore fan. Their best for sure. That said, besides "Hard Times", none of these songs strike me as hits. I would love if "Idle Worship" was on the radio though. That'd be so cool. Also, I knew Aaron's voice would be low in the mix on "No Friends" but I was so relieved when he started yelling because when he first came in it was SO quiet. What a surreal song to have on a "mainstream" rock band's album.
5 songs in. Really liking the album. Hayley sounds top notch. Zac's drumming doesn't sound like the past Zac drumming, which is good. It wouldn't fit with this at all. Everything sounds pretty good.
Can't see Idle Worship on the radio because of the verses, but Rose Colored Boy is totally a hit. Maybe Fake Happy and Pool too.
Also, this album is so cohesive, which instantly makes it better than the self-titled. I listened to the self-titled earlier and even though I liked some individual songs more than I had (like "Crazy Girls") it's just not very fluid. This one is sequenced so perfectly.
I think I agree. I find them both uneven in terms of quality (like every Paramore album IMO) but S/T is just way too long, and this has just as many highlights in addition to being much more focused.
yeah i can listen to this front to back and not feel like it's all over the place or too long. s/t just was kind of a "mess" re: the sequencing/flow imo, and that's the only paramore album i feel that way about. i definitely like this better overall on second listen.
"26" kinda disrupts the flow and i'd probably skip it. it feels like it would work as a b-side/bonus track on a deluxe version. definitely like "pool" even more than i originally did.
Caught In the Middle is the one that disrupts the flow for me. It's this corny song that really doesn't belong in the back half of the album, especially between Grudges and Idle Worship (which I think are two of the better tracks on the album).
In the Zane Lowe interview he talks about how "26" ends Side A of the album which helps me feel better about where it is. Especially with "Pool" starting Side B.