Paramore
Riot!

THE REVIEW

Paramore is a very young American rock band formed in 2004, debuting the following year with the successful "All We Know Is Falling", after gaining some experience by playing gigs around their Tennessee hometown. The band offers a fast, immediate punk rock, overall simple yet never banal, where emo influences are not lacking.

The strength of the group lies in the talented Hayley Williams, a kind of Avril Lavigne squared, a true force of nature on stage. Her voice is powerful, gritty, sometimes rasping but capable of releasing that intensity and sweetness when needed, often making that quality leap that sets you apart from others. This frontwoman is especially appreciated from a technical standpoint; it’s no coincidence that she is said to have taken numerous singing lessons. Another element not to be underestimated in this lineup is the guitarist Josh Farro, excellent at leading the band with his compelling rhythm line and significant as a backup vocalist accompanying Hayley. In the summer of 2007, they returned with a new work, "Riot!", which, after a few months, began to give them the right popularity not only in their homeland. The album is characterized by powerful guitars favoring simple yet impactful riffs. Aggressiveness is certainly Paramore’s strong suit, but in every track, those charismatic melodies that provide a backdrop to an electrifying atmosphere are present.

The work opens with "For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic" a fierce, fast, and powerful track where we delve into the classic American punk style that also reappears in "That's What You Get". With "Hallelujah" comes the first gem of the album, where the melodic line and Williams' falsetto in the chorus are striking. "Misery Business" is the first single extracted, with a hook that sticks with you from the first listen, where Williams shines, and Josh Farro's guitar is heard in its power and aggressiveness. With "When It Rains", the pop soul of the band emerges; the melody prevails, and the atmosphere becomes sweeter and more melancholic. A shift in style that, however, leaves doubts by interrupting the speed line of the record. On the other hand, "Let The Flames Begin" is excellent, the darkest piece with a more conventional rock sound, where the two guitars of Farro and Taylor York, who replaced the departing Hunter Lamb, intersect splendidly. Zac, Farro's brother Josh, is also excellent on drums; his precision is exemplary, and his tempo changes fill every piece splendidly. After the fast and punky "Miracle", there comes another nice piece, "Crushcrushcrush", where a stunning and aggressive hook leads us to dark emo sounds, abandoning the punk atmosphere; to note are the usual and spot-on riffs by Farro. In every respectable rock album, a slow track that arrives on time with "We Are Broken", although not one of the best moments of the album, is indispensable. It closes grandly with "Fences" and "Born For This", where the usual fast rhythm combined with raw guitars and an energetic atmosphere prevails again.

Are you looking for the album of the year, something innovative and surprising, technically exaggerated, or a mature band bordering on perfection? You can skip this review and forget about hearing a Paramore piece. Do you want to relax with a bit of healthy and simple pop rock after a stressful day? Well, then you can listen to this sparkling album that flows by with pleasure and you can play in your car stereo in moments of boredom. In short, an album for everyone, for those who listen to more sophisticated music and need to unplug, perhaps thinking back to the good old high school days, but especially for the very young because, if you want to listen to simple punk rock without frills, it's fair to trust those who know how to do it well. Of course, never as in this case, de gustibus non est disputandum. These kids have much to learn, and there is still a long road ahead, but their compositional ability and maturity bode well for the future. Although proposing nothing new, Paramore deserves much more attention than many other bands turned into stars by record companies and made into money machines where appearance counts more than music. Finally, anyone labeling Hayley Williams as a Lavigne copy is mistaken. It's more appropriate to speak of Paramore as a young rock band, fresh, with great potential and ample room for improvement, proposing tracks with engaging rhythms and melodies; basically, one of the few bands that, without following particular trends and falling into ridicule and oblivion, can still give meaning to pure and simple punk rock.

One extra point for talent and youth.