By McKenna Klaphake

After five and a half years, Paramore is back and better than ever! With the February 10, 2023 release of their album “This is Why,” fans everywhere have fallen back in love with this band. The ten tracks bring the same groovy beats that we have all grown to love but with more socially relevant lyrics.

This album is truly a product of our time, with lyrics such as “In just one year, I’ve aged one hundred. My social life, a chiropractor appointment” (C’es Comme Ça), and “But I worry and I give money, and I feel useless behind this computer, and that’s just barely scratched the surface of my mind” (The News), lead singer, Hayley Williams, describes many of the feelings that a lot of folks have experienced in the new normal of the past three years.

“This is Why” is comprised largely of upbeat dance tracks that you cannot deny will be played on a loop at bars and clubs for the foreseeable future. This is what Paramore does best; create songs that are both lyrically and musically catchy. This album may be a touch removed from their more emo and punk influenced music of the early 2000’s, but that does not take away from how truly great it is. 

Paramore does provide a couple of tracks for the fans who enjoyed their more slower songs with ballads like “Thick Skull”, “Liar”, and “Crave.” The same jazz and ska influences heard in their early work can also be found in this new album. Hayley Williams continues to blow listeners away with her expansive vocal range and ability to create that special Paramore flavor that we can’t seem to get enough of. The recent resurgence of Y2k pop punk bands couldn’t be complete without Paramore and they’ve certainly maintained their spot as one of the greats with “This is Why.”