Whether it's creating a secret Instagram account or mailing doll limbs to fans, Paramore's Hayley Williams has consistently had a talent for unconventional music announcements. On Tuesday, she premiered her new track ‘Mirtazapine’ through WNXP Radio, delivering a CD titled ‘Mirtazapine + Glum’ to the station. In a characteristically unique move, she released an additional 16 tracks of unheard solo material on her new 00s-themed website hayleywilliams.net, accessible only to fans who had a special 16-digit code acquired by purchasing items from the latest Good Dye Young (her aptly named hair dye company) drop, ‘Ego’.
Amidst a mix of music files, a tiled backdrop featuring her dog Alf and a phone camera clip of the band Phoenix taken from the side stage in 2017, there's an audio player that reveals the reality: this is the first solo material Hayley has put out since 2021’s ‘Flowers For Vases’. Across the 17 tracks, she revisits her fascination with nautical metaphors, explores generational trauma in ‘Kill Me’, challenges the idea of love in ‘Love Me Different’, and partially covers Bloodhound Gang’s ‘The Bad Touch’, merging its chorus with a monotone rendition of her original work.
After experiencing ‘True Believer’, one might find it fitting to describe these songs as some of Hayley’s most complex and satisfying writing to date. Reflecting on her Nashville roots with tracks like ‘True Believer’ and ‘EDAABP’, she critiques tourism, greed, racism, and gun laws, biting back with lines like, “Gift shop in the lobby, act like God ain’t watching,” in reference to the church profiting from covetousness, “kill the soul, turn a profit.”
In ‘Ice In My OJ’, Hayley chooses to reclaim her earlier sounds, revisiting the innocent Contemporary Worship Music vibe of her Mammoth City Messengers’ track ‘Jumping Inside’ but transforming it into something fresh and bold. She retains the catchy pop chorus while contrasting it with distorted screams and intense lyrics like, “I got ice in my OJ, I’m a cold-heart bitch, a lot of dumb motherfuckers that I made rich.” With Paramore now free from their long-standing label Warner, this callback feels like a conscious reclamation of the industry that once signed her and then marginalized her, leading to criticism from both the media and former bandmates. It's no surprise that Chappell Roan referred to her as “the strongest bitch ever.”
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While the timeline of these songs is uncertain, tracks like ‘Disappearing Man’ evoke a mood similar to that of her previous album ‘Flowers For Vases’, with lyrics like “Disappearing man with wild hair and a stare that could melt stone, there were no conditions to my love, it was endless until there was no you to hold,” standing out as some of the 36-year-old’s most heart-wrenching work. ‘Love Me Different’ was even recognized as early as 2017 in demos, alongside tracks like ‘Wait On’.
The song ‘Blood Brothers’, referencing ‘Blood Bros’, also expresses a tentative acoustic longing for a “bond like no other.” Many of the tracks delve into familiar themes of longing or relationship breakdowns, but the closing track ‘I Won’t Quit On You’ offers an optimistic note. ‘Hard,’ an upbeat track driven by a lively bass line, showcases autotuned vocals while echoing the groove found in 2020’s ‘Petals for Armor’.
Growing up in a funk band, publicly admiring late 80s/early 90s New Jack Swing, and having a background steeped in alternative rock, this project blends various styles that Hayley has explored, whether with Paramore or on her own. Yet her distinctive lyricism unifies them into a journey of self-discovery. The songs, presented in a 90s MySpace format, add a personal touch, akin to rummaging through the artist’s private diary.
8/10
Words: Emma Way
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Whether it's creating a secret Instagram account or mailing doll limbs to fans, Paramore's Hayley Williams has long had a talent for the unconventional.