Paramore’s sixth studio album is an eclectic one. While working on This is Why, the band revisited their strongest influences, resulting in a record that’s hard to define. It’s post-punk, post-hardcore, post-everything. The new wave frequencies from their last album, 2017’s After Laughter, make appearances here and there. Echoes of shoegaze and dream pop announce themselves for the first time while ear-blasting guitar tones make a welcome return, having been gone for far too long.

On “This is Why,” the album’s title track, the band treads water in bright but familiar territory. It opens with 30 seconds of instrumentation: a jazzy bassline paired with crisp hi-hats and crackling snare hits. It feels like we’re overhearing the band members jamming. The hook is reminiscent of the one found on “Hard Times,” their last album’s opening track. Layered vocals. Staccato delivery. They’re giving listeners one last taste of After Laughter’s new wave sound before ushering them in the band’s new direction.

But what direction is that? Hayley Williams hinted at the sound of Paramore’s next album–what would eventually become This is Why–in a 2020 interview with NME, mentioning her preference for music that’s “a bit more ratty sounding.” Fans of Paramore’s early emo-rock albums latched onto the idea that the band would ditch the sleek pop of After Laughter and return to the music that brought the band fame. Luckily for those fans, This is Why delivers a lot of the harsh rock sound Paramore teased in that interview.

“The News” is the first cut on the album to plant the band firmly back in rock territory. Screeching guitars wail against thudding drums, and we get the first glimpse of the scratchy vocals that shot Williams into rock stardom. Anger bursts through her voice on a chorus that will worm its way into your brain, like most of the choruses on the record. But while this song works sonically, it leaves a lot to be desired lyrically.

It’s about the 24 hour news cycle and the anxious nation it’s created. On the bridge, Williams refers to the news as “Rhetorical, deplorable, historical,” adding “And all along we called it normal.” And then I think you’re supposed to have some sort of major epiphany. The lyrics are doing a lot more telling than showing here, and the anthemic music presupposes that this is some sort of revolutionary message which it just isn’t.

But politics is not a recurring theme on This is Why. Most of the songs are about relationships, and the lyrics on these tracks are a lot stronger. On “Big Man, Little Dignity,” muted guitars carry us through verses about a pathological liar who weaseled his way into Williams’ life. We hear her vocal cords scrape together on the hook as she tells him off. “Liar” covers Williams’ attempts to put up walls between her and her partner–the falsetto on this one will cut you open.

“You First” oscillates between softer reflective moments and guitar-driven outbursts, a vehicle for Williams’ intense paranoia: “Turns out I’m living in a horror film/where I’m both the killer and the final girl/so who, who are you?” This track and “Figure 8,” a pulsing song about Williams losing herself in a toxic relationship, are notable high points on the record.

Although the album reflects Paramore’s emo-rock sensibility for the most part, the band experiments here and there to great effect. Instruments blend together on “Crave,” creating an ethereal sound. And “C’est Comme Ça” evokes Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne.

This is Why is Paramore looking back without regressing. They make nods to their earlier sound but move forward with experimental tracks that make just as much noise as the conventional ones. Mileage may vary with songs like “The News,” but this is an incredibly strong album overall, one of my favourites of the year.

Will is a second year Professional Writing student at Algonquin College. He likes to write about obscure punk bands for street cred, but his most listened to artist on Spotify is Doja Cat. So what? He likes to dance. He’s also quite defensive.