Paramore’s new album is all about being real, being honest, and being real honest. Paramore as a band has been through tough situations and heartbreaks, and it is amazing that they are still here today. In After Laughter, they finally acknowledge all of the pain they’ve picked up along the way. The album does a great job at covering that pain, even though the catchy, upbeat vibes seems contrary to the true tone of what’s being covered.
After Laughter starts off with a clear message: we’ve been through some serious shit, and they’ve been hard times. “All that I want is to wake up fine, tell me that I’m alright, that I ain’t gonna die.” “Hard Times”, the lead single and perhaps the staple track of the album, sweetly shouts this line within the first thirty seconds of starting After Laughter. Each and every emotion on After Laughter is relatable in one way or another to everyone in their own personal lives. These are serious emotions, but the fun, vibrant sound makes you want to dance and have a mental breakdown at the same time. Hayley Williams even throws some fun into this idea with one of her tweets about the Hard Times music video.
“Rose-Colored Boy” explodes with a true 80’s vibe, complete with its own original cheer to make the song that much more catchy. The album continues on from there to dig deeper and deeper into the emotional well, with songs such as “Forgiveness” and “Fake Happy” touching on those “hard to talk about” topics. The whole album really speaks to feelings that aren’t traditionally covered in mainstream music. Songs such as “Pool” break the mold of what a love song means for music, as it goes to shows a “not-so-happy” one-sided relationship. After Laughter hits on the large minorities in life, but these minorities are distinctly relatable to the majorities in life.
