Whether you had an emo, punk, pop punk, pop rock, synth wave, synth-pop, indie, or alternative phase — or just listened to the radio — you’ve probably heard of the band Paramore. Hits like “Misery Business” and “Still Into You” have over a billion streams on Spotify, and their song “Decode” was featured on the soundtrack for the hit movie “Twilight.” Paramore’s influence is undeniable.
Arguably, lead singer Hayley Williams’s strong, intensely emotional vocals remain Paramore’s most captivating feature. With an almost-four-octave range, a powerful belt, and a characteristic vocal flair, her skill indeed elevates Paramore’s already substantial lyrics and composition.
Yet, aside from the music, Paramore has their fair share of interpersonal drama. Their internal conflict, along with religious and political differences, has caused numerous changes in the band’s lineup. Williams is the only founding member who remains in the band. Though she has released some solo projects in the past, her career has been inseparably tied to the band since 2004.
Now, Paramore’s contract with Atlantic Records is officially over. With this newfound independence, Williams released a solo album, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” with a whopping eighteen songs. Each track feels grounded and down to earth, despite Williams’s massive mainstream success. Given the length and breadth of the album, I’ll be focusing on my three favorite songs. I chose the tracks based on personal preference and their superb style, lyrics, and production.
Track 2: “Glum”
Early on in the album, Williams addresses heavy topics, including loneliness and isolation. She compares herself to “moonlight,” relying on other people’s sunshine to illuminate her life. She feels directionless and worthless — others assign her purpose, while she struggles to find her own.
Still, Williams echoes wanting to “go back to wherever we’re from,” implying a return to the comfort and safety of home. However, I interpret the lyric differently: going back to where we’re from, our souls returning to the universe like waves receding into the ocean. It’s a grim interpretation, but it reflects how vulnerable we can feel when we lose our individual purpose.
As an interesting creative choice, the production mirrors this tension. The pitched-up vocals in the verse threw me off guard when I first listened to this song. However, the more I listen to the song, the more it grows on me — I keep streaming it because of the chorus’s strength. The verses juxtapose pitched-up vocals against calm acoustic guitars. Once the chorus arrives, the pitch comes back down and the instrumentation thrives. It sounds orchestral, and the steady verses build up to an intense chorus. It reflects numbness, building up to a breakdown, leaving you completely frustrated at your isolation and meaninglessness.
“Glum” reflects feelings I have experienced, especially moving so far away from home to Swarthmore. My desire to return home has definitely hit me at certain points, so this song resonates with my adjustment to college.
Track 13: “True Believer”
Aside from her fame, Williams has frequently illustrated a passion for advocacy. She’s continuously discussed discrimination, racism, and LGBTQ+ rights. Therefore, it’s refreshingly unsurprising that she would criticize such discriminatory aspects of Southern culture and conservatism, especially considering the current administration. Namely, she makes direct references to institutional racism underlying Southern, and specifically Tennessean, culture. A line in the pre-chorus goes: “strange fruit, hard bargain,” which references Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit,” written in 1939 to protest lynchings. Comparing hanging bodies to “strange fruit,” Holiday emphasizes the violence experienced by Black Southerners. The second half of the line references Hard Bargain, a historic Black neighborhood in Franklin, TN. Harvy McLermore, a formerly enslaved man, formed the community. Despite efforts to preserve Hard Bargain’s history, gentrification is actively working against those efforts.
Throughout the track, Williams comments on Christians who use God to justify racism and discusses greedy church-workers exchanging faith for material profit. She uses an eerie, gothic chord progression to amplify concerns especially pressing to her as a Nashville resident. Also a Christian herself, Williams’s perspective lets her step back and acknowledge how people use religion to justify harmful actions. However, she clarifies that her faith does not align with their ideology.
The chorus’s main line and most important message is “the South will not rise again ‘til it has paid for every sin.” This contrasts conservative culture’s emphasis on preserving “tradition” with an acknowledgement of the South’s history of racism and oppression against people of color.
Track 18: “Parachute”
The final track on the album was not released in the original project. Williams initially released seventeen songs at once, but they were not officially an album. Eventually, she rereleased them as a collective album and added “Parachute” as the final song.
With the addition of such a devastating track, many speculated that it was inspired by Williams’s feelings toward bandmate Taylor York. Though they confirmed their relationship in 2023, the timeline of their romance was not public. The track hints at these feelings between the pair before they were together publicly. For instance, Williams addresses that York watched her marry a toxic and unfaithful spouse. She laments, “I thought you were gonna catch me,” referring to her belief that York would confess his feelings and save her from an emotionally harmful relationship.
The second verse, arguably the most heartbreaking part, displays her desperation. The lyrics appear to depict Williams’s dismay at her marriage. She emphasizes the time lost with York, who could have treated her with love, rather than spite. While many fans interpret “Parachute” as a breakup song, the lyrics more directly express her wish for someone to rescue her from this bad marriage. Ultimately, the person she relied on failed to do so. At this exact moment, she realized she couldn’t rely on someone else to save her. She had to save herself, or bring a metaphorical parachute, and become her own heroine. At the end of the day, the public shouldn’t delve into private relationships, even if Williams and York are public figures. I’m analyzing these songs from Williams’s experiences, but there is no guarantee that “Parachute” centers around Taylor York, or her marriage for that matter. Regardless, it’s clear that Williams was vulnerable with her feelings, and urges her audience to stand up for themselves, rather than solely relying on others to save them.
Concluding Thoughts
While I only analyzed three tracks, other standouts include “Mirtazapine,” “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” and “I Won’t Quit On You.” It’s important to reiterate that Williams initially released this album as a collection of songs. A common criticism is that the songs sound a little disjointed. Needless to say, going from an absurd song like “Discovery Channel” — which revamps a comedic line from the ’90s group Bloodhound Gang and their song “The Bad Touch” — to a critique of gentrification and religion as justification for harmful ideologies in “True Believer” feels jarring.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend the album “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” especially if you’re a Paramore fan. Even if you’ve never heard of them, it’s worth a listen. This album reflects Williams’s newfound freedom from a big record label and explores her path as an independent artist. She seems to have more freedom with no pressure from an executive force, and reflects that liberation throughout the album. Enough said — go give it a listen!
