I almost pee'd my pants when I got the new Paramore CD, Brand New Eyes, in the mail five days before it actually came out. It was literally the highlight of my week. Is that pathetic? I frantically ripped open the package, popped the CD into my computer, and turned it up as loud as it could go. I soon found that this new album would be a kind of therapy session for me. I went through a lot of the same things that lead singer Hayley Williams went through while writing Brand New Eyes, and it's very easy to feel the emotion she is trying to put across.
The first thing I noticed about the music while listening was the greater influence of punk rock on some of the songs. These kids have definitely grown up since their freshman album, All We Know is Falling. The music is more complex, maybe because of the new guitarist Tyler York. The energy is insane. Drummer Zac Farro really knows his shit. I can' stop tapping my foot, and I have the strange urge to band my head. It's nice to get a break from the crazy fast music and enjoy the softer ballads too. Josh Farro strums his acoustic guitar with conviction and manages to throw whimsical riffs into the mix. It's so hard to believe how old this band is, most of them under 21.
