I just had to bump this thread, as I'm listening to the self-titled album again for the first time in a month or so, and seriously, it's soooooo good.
I only discovered this album earlier this year. I might describe this as my guilty pleasure (along with Sia, this is the poppiest music in my collection), but I feel that it's a back handed compliment. It's a genuinely great album.
So, firstly,
production. Man, this album sounds so fresh. It totally
pops out of the speakers. I've listened to it many times over the past few months, and it still sounds so vibrant. There's some great guitar and bass tones in here (most notably the bass in
Ain't It Fun and the guitars in the chorus of
Now), and the vocals sit in a very nice place in the mix too - prominant, and definitely up front, but without drowning anything out.
Secondly, this album is hook city. Seriously, Hayley can write some serious melodies. It's not just the melodies, though, it's the delivery (or phrasing, I guess?). The best parts of
Still Into You are the verse vocals, which have an awesome sort-of 'descending staccato' phrase ("I need the other one to hold you"), and a nice bit of sneering attitude. OK, maybe that's not true - the handclaps are probably the best part!
Thirdly, I still cannot get over that for an album with 14 full tracks and 3 wonderful and adorable ukelele interludes, there is not a single bad track on this album. Sure, some are stronger than others, but every single track is of very high quality. That just feels so rare for a relatively long album. Hell, it's rare for a
short album. Faves include
Last Hope,
Ain't It Fun,
Future,
(One of those) Crazy Girls. I think
Part II is probably the weakest, as it's a bit by-the-numbers for me, but still a very strong track.
I've gone back and listened to their earlier albums on Spotify, but I can't really get into it. They have some good songs spread among those albums, but the albums themselves feel a bit bland. I don't know, they seem... immature? I think this self-titled album was a huge step up for them. By shedding their pop-punk roots and embracing pop wholeheartedly, they seem to have a newfound confidence and which shines through in every aspect of this album, from the songwriting to the production.
Anyway, just wanted to gush a little bit. I'm sure you understand!
EDIT: Just been scanning the thread. Looks like I might be in the minority a little here haha! Most people seem to like the earlier "punkier" stuff. Hmmm. It's interesting, because most of the time my tastes lean far more to punk/hard rock than anything like Paramore, but I guess I prefer my pop 'poppy', and my punk 'rough' haha.
