Somehow, I feel Paramore are going to get a lot of publicity. I mean they're a good band and all - at times they're a really, really good band - but these kids are like 15 and 16 years old and there doesn't seem to be any kind of marketing about them. These kids are the real deal. Originally from Tennessee, the band really revolve around 16-year-old singer Hayley Williams, who is already getting comparisons to Avril Lavigne. Not that they sound particularly alike I hasten to add, more the fact that the two are teenage girls who front bands with guitars. Whilst Paramore are more poppy than a lot of Fueled By Ramen bands, they're certainly more the real deal than Avril.
The story goes that FBR owner John Janick signed Paramore after seeing them live - just once. After the first four songs on this album, it's plainly clear why he's done it. 'Let This Go' has a soaring vocal hook - a trait Miss Williams will obviously become famed for - while 'Emergency' and 'My Heart' are classics in the making. 'Here We Go Again' and 'Pressure' are immense too. One thing this band can really nail are catchy, anthemic choruses that will have you singalong along in no time.
The guitar riffs are crunchy (thanks to the production skills of James Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever, Underoath) and Mike Green (Yellowcard, The Black Maria)) and the drums really good - especially when you consider Zac Farro is just 15.
The problem Paramore have is that they can't quite maintain the standards of these 5 songs, leaving half of this album a little flat and dull. Infact, it's almost a non-event, as songs meander and Hayley's voice fails to grab you as much as the opening salvo of tracks. I can really see why FBR signed Paramore on the basis of one live show - if they hadn't, it wouldn't have been long before the majors started sniffing. And, to be honest, I'll be amazed if album number two isn't on Island like their former labelmates in Fallout Boy and The Academy is... Sure, this CD is far from perfect, but there are so many fantastic moments that really show what talent these kids have. If they're half as good live, and can develop at a rate this album suggests, then by the time they say goodbye to their teenage years Hayley Williams and co could easily be poster boys and girls for a new music generation.
» Official Website
