Arguably one of the most anticipated releases of 2009, 'brand new eyes' is by far the band's most personal album. Over 2 million records sold, three gold and one platinum single, a gold DVD release, countless sold out tour dates and numerous awards and nominations including the 2008 Grammy Nomination For 'Best New Artist' Award, you can say that Paramore has reached mainstream stardom. Produced by Grammy Award-winner Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock, My Chemical Romance) and co-produced by the band, the long-awaited follow-up to 2007's platinum certified second album, 'Riot!' The 11-track collection is unquestionably Paramore's best and brightest album to date, fit to burst with all the exuberant melodies, breathless hooks, and irrepressible energy that has made the Nashville-based band one of the most popular rock outfits in recent memory. That’ll be the true eye-opener.Vinyl LP edition. And as good as Brand New Eyes can be, just wait until Hayley Williams begins to venture beyond her insular personal realm, and starts to see the wider world around her. But the more I think about it, the more that analogy makes sense, because Idol made a similar transition from angry punker to angry mainstream rocker during that timeframe. For some reason, tracks like “Ignorance” bring to mind ’80s era Billy Idol. Musically, producer Rob Cavallo (who’s worked with Green Day, among others) gives Brand New Eyes a crisp, clear sound.
In fact, “Careful,” oddly paraphrases Jesus with these words: “The truth never set me free/So I’ll do it myself.” The one clear place where the Christian life is alluded to is “Turn It Off.” The lyric, “I’m better off when I hit the bottom,” relays one of those end-of-her-rope moments, where only God can ease the pain.
“Spiritual” is another word that rarely applies to songs on Brand New Eyes. Paramores new album brand new eyes to top UK chart by Sean Adams September 29th, 2009 In a break from news about ridiculous marketing gimmicks to sell albums (Health, Ryan Adams already did that t-shirt thing forever ago) and talk of the record industry being as doomed as Friendster, we thought this chart news might shock you as much as it. Exceptional love, the kind she never saw her parents share with each other, has suddenly and surprisingly found its way into Williams’ world. Yet confessional is the only word that fits “The Only Exception,” with its lyrical ode to rare love in a mostly loveless world. “Confessional,” however, is not a word that describes Williams much of the time. “I can’t believe we almost hung it up,” she confesses. This pivotal song describes the near break-up of Paramore, an event that obviously still troubles Williams. If the precocious Hayley Williams spends a lot of Brand New Eyes correcting bad behavior in others (“You treat me just like another stranger”), she enlightens with “Ignorance,” and then points out, “Next time you point a finger / I’ll point you to a mirror” on “Playing God.” All of this anger seems to be directed at some immature boy in Williams’ life at least until we get to “Looking Up,” the eighth track.