Tim: Paramore, the primary purveyors of female-fronted mainstream rock. Right?
Tom: Great guitar work, catchy hooks, verging on the anthemic at times. Right.
Tim: Wrong. That’s new, and oh, I’m not sure it works all that well.
Tom: I guess the 90s are back in style properly now. And they’ve gone all… funk-ish, I guess? I do like it, it’s just not what I expected from Paramore. I think there’s a glockenspiel in there somewhere.
Tim: I would absolutely love to know the thought process behind this, because I have absolutely no idea what they were going for. A one-off experiment? A full directional shift? A bit of “hey, let’s freak people out”? The thing is, unless it was that last one, I’m not sure it works.
It’s alright as a track, I guess, and after a few listens it’s a bit catchy, but that middle eight for starters is just a bit bizarre really.
Tom: Ah, but that outro actually made me grin: it was unexpected, but also really good. Yes, it took me a listen or two to get it, but I really enjoyed this. It’s a rarity here, Tim, to find a song that I immediately like while you don’t.
Tim: I’m all for experimentation, I guess, so I won’t criticise this too harshly, but I do hope this is a singular experiment. Really, I do.