In times of turbulence, music can be a rally of force and the storm’s calm. This Is Why is a snarling clap-back track with every ounce of grit we’re used to, yet it still feels like the beginning of something entirely new.
Photo: Zachary Gray
After forming in Tennessee in 2004, Paramore has been a constant in the music industry. Through ups and downs, euphoria and utter exhaustion, they’ve remained. After a four-year break from the band, focusing on rebuilding and strengthening their bond, they announced a new single, This Is Why, from their highly anticipated upcoming album of the same name. They released the single alongside the beautifully retrospective music video directed by Turnstile’s Brendan Yates.
This Is Why is a snarling clap-back track with every ounce of grit we’re used to from the trio, yet it still feels like the beginning of something entirely new. The direct lyrics and delicious rage are undoubtedly still there, but it feels much more mature and secure this time. Williams expressed in a letter to their listeners: “The idea of getting out there and doing what we do at a time like this feels heavy and futile and necessary all at once. It also feels like the perfect time to take advantage of every opportunity we are given to leverage our platform for good causes. Whether those are literal causes or whether it’s just about showing ourselves and each other that music is still a good place to be.”
The years have seen multiple changes in the band’s line-up, but what remains unchanged is their community spirit—using their voices to speak out against the industry’s double standards towards women and its blatant misogyny. They’ve fought alongside other women and non-binary artists to make the music industry safer for future generations. In This Is Why we see Hayley fully utilise her delicious feminine rage, and as a massive fan of her unapologetic solo projects of the same nature, I have to say I am incredibly excited for their upcoming album. Women’s rage has been a catalyst for beautiful things, and not only is the rage valid, but entirely necessary.
As The Guardian so expertly put it: There’s a sense of generational vindication: a band who battled an unsparing media and a sexist scene, whose frontwoman was belittled by ex-bandmates, have won out on their own terms. Their inclusive, questioning, caring values have set new industry norms, and the only reward they’re interested in enjoying is creative freedom: Farro has been calling this their “season of not resisting”.
This Is Why is out now on all major platforms.
The album is due out February 10 via Atlantic.
Photo: Zachary Gray
by Felix Oppheim
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