Once upon a time in 2002, in Franklin, Tennessee, a young girl met two brothers.  She a singer, one brother a guitarist, and the other a drummer. They realized their shared love of music.  Along with their bassist friend, they played music together and in 2004, they officially became a band.  And now, here in 2009, they are Paramore.  And they have released their third studio album, Brand New Eyes.

When I first heard of Paramore on a short commercial on MTV, the thing that got my attention first was singer Hayley Williams’ voice.  While the band was sitting around a campfire, playing an acoustic song, there was no limit on the power of her voice.  Guitarist Josh Farro writes music that is so uniquely Paramore; they are easily separated from bands in their genre.  And the band has only gotten better. 

In the new album, listeners can hear the experience that the Paramore has gained, musically, and in life in general.  Each individual member has continued to grow.  Williams’ powerful voice is definitely even more showcased in this album, which can be heard especially two minutes and 40 seconds into the song “All I Wanted”.  Paramore has also shown a wider range:  “Misguided Ghosts,” for example, is a softer, acoustic song, as opposed to their usual louder rock songs.  Williams’ voice even sounds different in this song:  instead of her belting it out, she sings more softly; drawing comparisons to Regina Spektor.

The music of Paramore may have become a bit more mellow, but the lyrics and emotion have not.  Paramore’s first album, All We Know is Falling (2005), was made when the band was younger, and the music focused on issues of younger people.  And following a member’s departure from the band, the album was largely centered on that loss.  The band’s sophomore album released in 2007 and was entitled Riot!  This album, as illustrated by the title, was an outburst of emotions, an outlet for their feelings.  In early 2008, Paramore hit a rough patch, cancelling a week of shows to deal with internal issues, and causing rumors of the band breaking up.  But they worked everything out, and decided that in order for the band to grow, they needed to see each other, see everything, in a whole new perspective with brand new eyes. 

On Paramore’s LiveJournal account, Williams posted this about the new album:  “With the record coming out, all the reviews have been piling up. We've never been that band. The one that gets the amazing reviews and that critics are stoked about. It's nice to have some of ‘em on our side this time. I mean, if the entire world hated Brand New Eyes, we would still be stoked on it.  But like I said, it feels good that everything has been so positive.”  Paramore’s Brand New Eyes has shed some light on another side of Paramore that everyone will love to hear.