Cover image: Paramore, photo by Zachary Gray.

Paramore released their first album since 2017, and it is different from their last pop escapade, 

 The Grammy award-winning emo rock band consists of lead singer Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. During the last half-decade, the band took a break and Williams released two experimental solo projects, one of which drummer Farro also worked on.

 is a brief comeback after an erratic five years which included: a pandemic, insurrections, wars, forest fires, Brexit. Frontloaded with heavy guitar-driven singles, the album at times clouds itself with cliche lyrics.

“This Is Why” leads as the title track with a 2000s garage band feel. The electric guitar riff leads the song to victory. It is funky and fun and worthy of the opening spot in the album.

In “The News,” Williams sings of battles on the other side of the world and within herself using lyrics like “Far, I’m far / So far, from the front line / Quite the opposite, I’m safe inside.” She continues with more lyrics that sound similar to an angsty privileged teenager writing in their diary, “But I worry, and I give money / And I feel useless behind this / computer.” But, Williams’ delivery oozes confidence and poise, making it easier to ignore the platitudes.

“C’est Comme Ça” starts off with a fervent guitar that falls short due to its unoriginality. The spoken portions of the song lack drive and finesse, making the song reminiscent of one by an industry plant punk band from Tiktok.

The playful instrumentals and sharp words in “Figure 8” make the track one of the standouts of this album. Songs about cliche figure 8’s or infinity are in no way abundant. But with lyrics like “All for your sake / I lost my way / Spinning in an endless figure / Eight,” the band manages to make for an ardent and relatable break up song.

“Thick Skull” is the not-too-grand finale. Daintily sung lyrics are layered among each other and over a muddied electric guitar. A brief guitar solo accents the song and gives a taste of what could have been from this diamond in the rough. It falls short, causing the song to feel more like an interlude that was recorded for too long.

After half a decade, more can be expected from an iconic emo band like Paramore, but they bring some memorable songs with their mixed bag creation.

Emo is back! Paramore returns to their post-punk roots with 'This Is Why'

, their live album of an original 45-minute electro-concerto for the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition at the Gugenheim museum in New York City. The album, recorded on Nov 11, 2011, has come out exactly eleven years later. How’s that for commitment?

The band was commissioned to write music in reaction to the 2011 Cattelan display that The New York Times described as “a suspicion of willful disbelief.” Many referred to the exhibition as Italian artist Cattelan’s swan song – filled with a cat, donkey, and the Pope among others – as he was retiring at the time.

During the performance, MGMT said, “We’re creating a musical experience that works for the building and for the construction and presentation of the Cattelan exhibit.” The band continued, “It’s an art exhibit done in a completely original way, so it deserves music which is completely original.”

Cattelan’s exhibit is quite original and creative, but also weird – dare I say, peculiar. The album complements the art effortlessly: instead of evoking a shopping mall exhibit with corny music, MGMT creates a well-crafted tribute to an artist’s last dance. The album sounds like a continuous song with never-ending low humming and ghost noises. A smooth, swingy lullaby with different movements – an electronic concerto.

The smooth transitions like the one from “Invocation” to “Whistling Through the Graveyard” make the concert album feel like a single celebration, as the first few songs meld together in a mix of gritty guitar and peculiar, video game-like synths. But it works, and transfers you straight into the Cattelan exhibit.

From silence to words, MGMT turns to the next movement with the 9-minute track, “Tell It to Me Like It Is.” With the help of ambient forest and ghost sounds, plus tambourine, the band lays down a consistent riff, and surprises you with lyrics that bring the song together. It is the first song where lyrics were needed – the song would perhaps be boring and repetitive without it – and the band delivered.

“I Am Not Your Home” provides an eerie and borderline dissonant melody. It is hard to tell whether or not this song hurts the ears or is a siren song sung by some boring sirens. If there are any flaws in this album, it’s this weird section. It’s the album’s purgatory.

With “Interlude” and a reprise of “Whistling Through the Graveyard,” the concerto transitions to its final movement. “Under the Porch” is a fantastic finale for this concert. It’s different from the previous songs, and more like an electronic type of country ballad. I can easily imagine a robot cowboy strumming the melodies in a rocking chair on the front porch. Almost every second of this track is a ‘wow’ moment; it would have been a pleasure to be at this concert.

At first, I wondered what I would do if I were on the floor at this concert. How would I dance to the ominous riffs? But then, I realized the audience was most likely a bunch of one-percenters so I would not have been able to be there anyway. For what it is – a concert for an art exhibit – MGMT succeeds with this stellar live performance.

MGMT electrifies the concerto, live

British band The 1975 always seems to mix the cynical with the pleasant. Lead vocalist Matthew Healy craves and yearns for love. The album lasts a short 44 minutes compared to their previous albums that tend to push over an hour. With this new wave, the band dives into their electric guitars, saxophones, and surprises. On 

, Healy is feeling rebellious like Rimbaud.

The album —produced entirely by Grammy award-winning producer Jack Antonoff— starts with lively, bright keys in a staggered rhythm. The opening track is worth the filled with numerous phases introducing the complex themes of love, loss, and global crisis to come. Healy yearns throughout the album and looks back at his years so far. “Happiness.” samples one of Healy’s past interviews, and like most of the album, thrives on repetition. The lyrics “I’m never gonna love again” create a paradox within the song and serve as a symbol of love and loss. The statement repeated numerous times in the song talks about all the good in his relationship and shifts to sulking about never loving again because he has lost this relationship. This track is full of naivety and hints of young love – Healy is head over heels and he’s falling somewhere. In the song “Oh Caroline”, he begs to get back with a girl (you can probably guess her name). According to Healy, “It couldn’t be ‘Oh Linda’ or ‘Oh Jane’ — you had to have a three-syllable that really works.”

“All I Need to Hear” is a perfect love ballad and transitions from the funkiness of the other songs. Perhaps it’s the pre-after party to the four-song finale of the album. Once again, Healy yearns — but the song is so soulful, yearning is inevitable. If “Human Too” is about empathy, then I’m an empath after listening to this track, and The 1975 is on its way to creating many more empaths. We’re all human… We have our flaws and our different and common lived experiences. This is the point which Healy easily gets with his soulfulness, deserving snaps throughout the song.

Lastly, although more pop than their past albums, The 1975 stay true to what they do best — jazzy riffs and stellar sax solos lovesick lyrics. Some of the songs like “Look For Somebody (To Love)” seem out of place in the album and the lyrics feel dark— too dark even for the 1975. Despite this, this album is a strong contender for one of the best of the year. Each song is arguably worthy of being a hit.

The 1975 brings the yearning

Melancholy — the feeling that autumn always seems to bring with it — oozes from Men I Trust’s latest single, “Girl.” Although I have never seen 

, this song gives off some of the same vibes. Starting with a calm, soft percussion that continues throughout the song, some unexpected voices sing on this new single. The band consists of Emma Proulx (the lead singer), Jessy Caron, and Dragos Chiriac. On Instagram, Proulx mentioned, “I don’t have a miraculously huge range, Jessy and Dragos also sing this song.” Caron and Chiriac’s vocals are as smooth as Tennessee whiskey: deep, delicate, and complement Proulx’s soft voice well. The lyrics are simple yet poetic, and express the story effortlessly using both English and French. If you’re looking to overthink another love interest, this song is right up your alley.

No official announcement of an upcoming album, but Men I Trust’s latest singles may be a hint at a new project.

Steph Ware