Paramore is finally back. The trio, consisting of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York, returned from their hiatus to their first album together in six years, This Is Why, via Atlantic Records on Friday (Feb. 10).
“’This Is Why’ was the very last song we wrote for the album. To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor convinced Zac and I both that we should work on this last idea,” Williams previously said of the album’s title track in a press release. “What came out of it was the title track for the whole album. It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last three or four years. You’d think after a global pandemic of f—ing biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something.”
The last time Paramore released an album as a band was 2017’s After Laughter, which features songs like “Hard Times” and “Rose-Colored Boy.” Since then, Williams dropped her own solo album, Petals for Armor, in 2020 and Farro has unveiled a number of solo works under the moniker Halfnoise.
In January, Paramore appeared on Billboard‘s digital cover, where the trio discussed their return as a band. “At this point, I don’t understand how we’re still doing it,” Williams shared. “Because it just feels like against all odds every single time — which, honestly, I feel like we’re the most annoying band in the world because it’s always like, ‘Oh, we overcame this, and now we’re making this album.’”
The new album feature’s previously released singles “C’est Comme Ça,” “The News” and the title track. Listen to Paramore’s This Is Why in full below.
