Paramore - Riot!
The highly anticipated sophomore album from Paramore is finally here, the band took six months out to write and record 'Riot!' and after touring for two years, selling out shows on both sides of the Atlantic I expect these youngsters welcomed the break.
As soon as 'Riot!' starts playing Paramore's confident and upbeat music comes flooding out of the speakers. Opening track 'For A Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic' is incredibly catchy. Drummer Zac Farro's work on this track is unbelievable, for a youngster he is incredibly talented and his drum work is well beyond his years, a perfect opening track.
'Hallelujah' is full of optimism and elegance, it has been a fan favourite at Paramore shows for a long time now and is definitely one of the highlights on 'Riot!'. With this song alone the Paramore kids have set the bar amazingly high, possibly so high that this song alone lives up to the hype surrounding 'Riot!'. Of course the single 'Misery Business' is on here, the drum and bass work on this track provide the perfect soundtrack for Hayley's colossal voice and straight up lyrics. 'Misery Business' is an easily accessible song and when it came out it seemed like the perfect choice for a single release but after hearing the rest of the album I'm not so sure, there are plenty of stronger songs on here.
'Let The Flames Begin' sees more of Hayley's straight talking. It's angry, emotional and powerful. 'Let The Flames Begin' is the track with the best vocal performance, this song is not to be missed. 'Crushcrushcrush' shows of how much the band has matured, it is dark and powerful, wise beyond their years which is pretty impressive when you think three band members are still teenagers. 'Crushcrushcrush' is the album highlight for me and this mature side to their music is guaranteed to bring a new army of followers to the Paramore camp.
Three words some up 'Riot!' – fun, emotional and energetic. For many bands the sophomore album is the breaking point, but Paramore definitely do not have to worry about that. Check it out, Paramore are impossible to ignore.