Towards the end of 2021, Hayley Williams suggested that the next Paramore album would arrive at some point in 2022. Now, she’s doubled down on that by telling Rolling Stone about being back in the studio with the band working on new material for what would be their first album since 2017’s After Laughter.
Describing the album as not necessarily a “comeback ’emo’ record,” Williams told the publication via email, “The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make. Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different. We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start. 1) More emphasis back on the guitar, and 2) Zac should go as Animal as he wants with drum takes.”
She also noted:
“We wrote and tracked something we loved and it actually surprised us. We kept joking it was all downhill from that point, but thank God we’ve been surprised a lot throughout this whole thing. I’m always waiting for the moment for us to know we’re onto something new and we’re not just rehashing the same sh*t. It was ‘Ain’t It Fun’ for our self-titled record, and ‘Hard Times’ or ‘Told You So’ for After Laughter. It’s not about it feeling like a hit so much as it’s a scary, exciting feeling that you’re treading uncharted waters. It keeps you curious. We got to feel that feeling early on this time.”
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Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.