Paramore took some time off following the release of their fifth studio album, After Laughter, in 2017. Frontwoman Hayley Williams put out two solo projects in 2020 and 2021 — Petals for Armor and Flowers for Vases/Descansos — while drummer Zac Farro released Motif with side project HalfNoise in November.
But Paramore is officially back to work on their next release, Williams revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone, published Tuesday (Jan. 11).
“We wrote and tracked something we loved and it actually surprised us,” Williams told the magazine via email. “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 shit. 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.”
Williams explained the band’s extensive studio schedule and revealed that she unsuccessfully attempted to get SZA in on the Paramore magic. “We started recording only a couple of months ago. We go into the studio around 10 a.m. and leave around 7 or 8 p.m. like a bunch of dads,” she added. “I’ve been trying to get SZA to come hang with us ’cause I want to be friends in real life but we leave the studio to eat and sleep and she’s still carpe-ing the diem.”
Paramore’s biggest priorities at the moment, according to Williams, is trying to make music that is new to them while staying true to their sound. “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 said.
Williams hinted at a Paramore comeback in 2022 in a Nov. 29 newsletter to fans to thank them for their continued support. “Before I go, thank y’all so much for the incredible support these last couple years. I know we didn’t get to properly come together to sing and vent and sweat it all out…but I do think that Petals and descansos lived exactly the lives they were meant to. Besides, Paramore can’t be ‘on a break’ forever now can we? I love y’all. See you sometime next year?” the singer concluded the newsletter.
Read the full interview with Williams on Rolling Stone.
