Paramore - The Studio Album Collection (2005-2017) [Official Digital Download]

Paramore is an American alternative rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. Their blend of emo-pop and slick, anthemic rock & roll eventually made them stars on both sides of the Atlantic. From the start, Paramore's poppy melodies and zippy songwriting seemed to contradict the fact that most of the bandmates were older than 18. To help attract a younger audience, Atlantic Records decided to share the band with Fueled by Ramen, a Florida-based label with a strong roster of emo-pop acts. By now, the band have released five studio albums. All of them includes in this Hi-Res collection.

On their debut, Paramore still hadn't fully found themselves. The early-2000s punk-pop boom was over and The Offspring of that ilk was taking over the scene. My Chemical Romance corralled the Hot Topic crowd that might have been into Marilyn Manson a decade earlier, while Fall Out Boy filled the niche vacated by a waning blink-182 and an evolved Green Day. Fortuitously, Paramore could slide in as one of the few female-fronted acts on the Warped scene. All We Know Is Falling (Fueled by Ramen) is formulaic in its pop-punk-ness: head-bobbing drums, straightforward riffs, and a midtempo sameness throughout ("Conspiracy," "Brighter," "Franklin"). Expertly executed and totally befitting its time, it was alright, but it just existed as an adept collection of straightforward rockers without much differentiation, excitement, or the brightness that would be found on later albums. The Farro brothers – at the time, the core foils to fiery vocalist Hayley Williams – provided ample muscle, especially on single "Emergency" and the driving "Never Let This Go." Some hints of the expert hooks that they'd craft on follow-up Riot! shimmered through on "Pressure" and "Here We Go Again." However, the fun, ferocity, and polish from that sophomore success (which, in turn, lifted this debut from relative obscurity and helped it hit gold) were just a glimmer in the band's eyes. This is a heavier, darker, and angstier affair, which has helped it stay relevant for fans who may not be as enthusiastic about their evolution into poppier, Grammy-winning territory. Listening closely, hints of future glory can be heard here. If Paramore had only released this album, they might have been lost in the shuffle of the times. Thankfully, they continued to evolve.

Tracklist:

01 - All We Know
02 - Pressure
03 - Emergency
04 - Brighter
05 - Here We Go Again
06 - Never Let This Go
07 - Whoa
08 - Conspiracy
09 - Franklin
10 - My Heart
11 - Pressure (Live)
12 - Here We Go Again (Live)

Move over, Avril Lavigne; there's a new gun in town. And even though Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams is a few years younger than her predecessor, she has a way bigger set of vocal pipes. Lavigne and Williams share a similar register, but Williams belts it out with way more control and authority. She may even be more of a respectable pop idol since her image isn't manufactured to be rebellious and angst-ridden; instead, Williams appears to be a genuinely sweet girl, bottling up a huge voice and a heart full of lost loves. On 2008's Riot!, she fills the majority of her punk-pop tales with emo angst and declarations of boy woes. Contrived as this may sound, her lyrics feel authentic and representative of actual teenage puppy love, where a breakup feels like the end of the world. Filled with crossover potential, the songs are consistant and zippy with catchy hooks in the vein of Boys Like Girls fronted by a young Shirley Manson. Meanwhile, the production is sparkling and heavily compressed due to the golden hands of David Bendeth, but these ultra-clean sonics also tend to cramp up the band – clouding the dynamics and turning the listening experience into a relatively risk-free one. When the group breaks away from the chugging guitar Fall Out Boy formula, they're at their best. Mid-song breakdowns and cathartic power ballads (think "Don't Speak") showcase the band's maturity as musicians. More importantly, Williams shines through in these openings. In the last track, "Born for This," she takes a break from her love confessions and commands everyone to sing like it's the last song they will ever sing, making for a sentimental finale and a perfect closer for the live shows.

Tracklist:

01 - For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
02 - That's What You Get
03 - Hallelujah
04 - Misery Business
05 - When It Rains
06 - Let The Flames Begin
07 - Miracle
08 - Crushcrushcrush
09 - We Are Broken
10 - Fences
11 - Born For This

Released in late 2009, Brand New Eyes presents Paramore as a stronger, leaner, and altogether more consistent band. "Careful" and "Ignorance" are two of the group's most aggressive tunes to date, and the rest of the disc follows suit, with the guitar interplay of Josh Farro and Taylor York (who makes his studio debut here, having joined the lineup after Riot! was recorded) receiving much of the spotlight. Drummer Zac Farro anchors the band with a flurry of snare hits and cymbal crashes, but the true MVP is none other than Ms. Williams, who sings with all the gusto of an angsty, 21st century Ann Wilson. She's fun, fiery, and altogether fantastic, a pint-sized powerhouse who attacks everyone from holier-than-thou naysayers ("Playing God") to egocentric space cadets ("Brick by Boring Brick"). Williams also tones down the sonic assault whenever it's appropriate, offering a beautifully understated vocal during the album's centerpiece ballad, "The Only Exception," and championing the band's longevity during songs like "Where the Lines Overlap" and "Looking Up." "God knows the world doesn't need another band," she sings during the latter track, "but what a waste it would have been…I can't believe we almost hung it up. We're just getting started." Riot! explored similar thoughts with its closing track, "Born for This," but "Looking Up" is made all the more convincing by the band's recent turmoil. Accordingly, Brand New Eyes is the band's most credible album to date, a blend of melody and muscle that packs a punch in spite of its tumultuous origin.

Tracklist:

01 - Careful
02 - Ignorance
03 - Playing God
04 - Brick By Boring Brick
05 - Turn It Off
06 - The Only Exception
07 - Feeling Sorry
08 - Looking Up
09 - Where The Lines Overlap
10 - Misguided Ghosts
11 - All I Wanted

For this release, Paramore worked with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, whose previous production credits include artists like Neon Trees and M83. Perhaps not the most obvious choice for a band that developed alongside labelmates like Fall Out Boy, but the first-time pairing explodes with chemistry, coalescing the group's grand emotionality and ridiculously tight hooks with ever new and genius musical avenues, like electronica and even orchestral flourishes. The idea that your songs should only include instrumentation that you can pack into your tour van is a practical limitation that for plenty of bands, especially those of the punk ethos, can become a downright philosophical limitation. But when original guitarist and drummer Zac and Josh Farro left the band in 2010, Paramore were forced to allow vital roles in their sound to be filled with hired professionals rather than actual bandmembers – after all, they needed somebody to play drums. This clearly opened the band up to exploring all other manner of possibilities in the studio that they could not reasonably fit into a van or reproduce in a garage, like a board full of subtly perfect synth intonations or, in the case of one song (the immediate classic "Ain't It Fun"), a gospel choir. The change represents more than just growth; it's transcendence. Paramore have made the album of their career.

Tracklist:

01 - Fast In My Car
02 - Now
03 - Grow Up
04 - Daydreaming
05 - Interlude: Moving On
06 - Ain't It Fun
07 - Part II
08 - Last Hope
09 - Still Into You
10 - Anklebiters
11 - Interlude: Holiday
12 - Proof
13 - Hate To See Your Heart Break
14 - (One Of Those) Crazy Girls
15 - Interlude: I'm Not Angry Anymore
16 - Be Alone
17 - Future




"Paramore: Self-Titled Deluxe", put out by Fueled By Ramen, includes 29 full tracks. The album by the American rock band includes "Now", "Daydreaming", "Still Into You", "Hate To See Your Heart Break" featuring Joy Williams, and many more. The record hit number one on the Billboard 200 list and Alternative Press' Best Albums list and number 7 on MTV's Best Albums of 2013.

For this release, Paramore worked with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, whose previous production credits include artists like Neon Trees and M83. Perhaps not the most obvious choice for a band that developed alongside labelmates like Fall Out Boy, but the first-time pairing explodes with chemistry, coalescing the group's grand emotionality and ridiculously tight hooks with ever new and genius musical avenues, like electronica and even orchestral flourishes. The idea that your songs should only include instrumentation that you can pack into your tour van is a practical limitation that for plenty of bands, especially those of the punk ethos, can become a downright philosophical limitation. But when original guitarist and drummer Zac and Josh Farro left the band in 2010, Paramore were forced to allow vital roles in their sound to be filled with hired professionals rather than actual bandmembers – after all, they needed somebody to play drums. This clearly opened the band up to exploring all other manner of possibilities in the studio that they could not reasonably fit into a van or reproduce in a garage, like a board full of subtly perfect synth intonations or, in the case of one song (the immediate classic "Ain't It Fun"), a gospel choir. The change represents more than just growth; it's transcendence. Paramore have made the album of their career.

Tracklist:

01 - Fast In My Car
02 - Now
03 - Grow Up
04 - Daydreaming
05 - Interlude: Moving On
06 - Ain't It Fun
07 - Part II
08 - Last Hope
09 - Still Into You
10 - Anklebiters
11 - Interlude: Holiday
12 - Proof
13 - Hate To See Your Heart Break
14 - (One Of Those) Crazy Girls
15 - Interlude: I'm Not Angry Anymore
16 - Be Alone
17 - Future
18 - Hate To See Your Heart Break (feat. Joy Williams) [Bonus Track]
19 - Escape Route [Bonus Track]
20 - Native Tongue [Bonus Track]
21 - Tell Me It's Okay (Self-Titled Demo) [Bonus Track]
22 - Still Into You (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
23 - Decode (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
24 - The Only Exception (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
25 - Brick by Boring Brick (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
26 - Let The Flames Begin (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
27 - Part II (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
28 - Proof (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]
29 - Ain't It Fun (Live at Red Rocks) [Bonus Track]

We know, we know, Paramore isn't just Hayley Williams. Paramore is a band. But when every roiling, addictive album is directly fueled by the discord of yet another lineup change, you start to wonder: Should the hole left by the most recently departing bandmate be considered an official member of the band?
It's a thought you can't help but mull over listening to Paramore's crackling fifth full-length album, 2017's After Laughter. The lineup this time features Williams, guitarist Taylor York (a member since their 2007 sophomore effort Riot!) and original drummer Zac Farro, returning after an estrangement since 2010. Notably not present here is bassist Jeremy Davis, who left for the second time in a huff of legal disturbances in 2015. The first time Davis left was immediately preceding the band's 2006 debut, All We Know Is Falling – an album ultimately devoted to the struggle and strife of his departure (though he ultimately rejoined for Riot!). Paramore also famously came close to disbanding after Riot!'s breakthrough success, with Farro and his brother, guitarist Josh Farro, disliking, apparently, the intense focus on Williams. That conflict directly informed 2010's Brand New Eyes, with the Farro brothers leaving in a dust cloud of public smack-talk afterward. The sturm und drang of the Farros departure became the theme of the band's massively successful 2013 eponymous album, which found Williams, Davis, and York playing as a trio. But Davis eventually became unhappy with that record's royalty split and left the group to sue them. Which brings us to the "Never Say Die" theme of After Laughter, an album that proves one thing above all else: Paramore thrive amid conflict.
Again working with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Paramore churn out anthem after infectious anthem, each euphorically designed to grab you where it counts – melodically and emotionally. Where 2013's Paramore found the group tentatively transitioning from their pop-punk roots toward a multi-layered '80s synth-pop sound, After Laughter reveals them having beautifully completed the transformation. Much credit here goes to York, who co-wrote all of the songs and whose deft guitar and keyboard make up much of the album's distinct aural character. But of course, Williams still beats at the center of everything, her voice providing the album's warm, exuberant core. Tracks like the lead-off disco-tinged "Hard Times" and crisply attenuated "Told You So" are earworms rife with DayGlo marimba and icy adult-contempo synths. Elsewhere, Williams weaves in the arpeggiated warmth of the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love," on "Grudges," and evinces Diva-era Annie Lennox on "Forgiveness.”
Despite the album's buoyantly pastel new wave tones, it unsurprisingly contains a truckload of hard-won maturity and a growing sense of battle fatigue. You hear it on virtually every track, particularly on the yearning closer "Tell Me How" ("I'm getting sick of the beginnings"). Ultimately, each Paramore album thus far has been more or less another triumphant battle cry of a band having fought and survived a breakup. But After Laughter intersects this with transcendence: the realization that life is an ongoing series of new beginnings.

Tracklist:

01 - Hard Times
02 - Rose-Colored Boy
03 - Told You So
04 - Forgiveness
05 - Fake Happy
06 - 26
07 - Pool
08 - Grudges
09 - Caught In The Middle
10 - Idle Worship
11 - No Friend
12 - Tell Me How


Thanks to the Original customer(s)!