Adam KennyAll We Know Is Paramore
It seems just like yesterday that Paramore were the new kids on the block. Well, it wasn’t yesterday. It was actually 20 years ago. Hence why we’re here now to celebrate 20 years of Paramore’s debut album All We Know is Falling with a deluxe edition.
Paramore are to me at least one of the most consistent bands in music. Seriously go look at their discography and ask yourself do they have any bad albums? Riot, Brand News Eyes, their self titled album, After Laughter and even their latest entry This is Why. I could spend all day going through each entry and their respective bangers, but we would genuinely be here all day. Haley Williams and co have had an incredible run, but everybody starts from somewhere and Paramore started with All We Know Is Falling. How does the album fare after 20 years?
Where it all started…
The album starts off strong with the first track “All We Know”, where we can both see the potential and the band’s inexperience. It starts off with hard guitar riff and Hayley’s iconic vocals jumping along side it. The first thing that strikes me is how alone Hayley’s vocals felt. They seem so isolated compared to some of their most recent tracks. I said this was inexperience earlier, but that’s not to say the track is amateurish. It’s quite impressive how the track quickly builds into a classic Paramore track. The guitar, the drums and Hayley’s primary and secondary vocals bring this familiar yet young sound. If wasn’t for how the verses start off, I would’ve told you this was cut from Riot. It’s an incredibly strong and impressive start for a debut album.
Startling maturity for such a young band
The second track, “Pressure” is considered one of the most popular songs on the album. The same kind of aesthetic that the first track brought is present here but this time the chorus is massive. It’s loud, Hayley’s vocals sound like they’ve been doing this for 15 years. The production on the track is tight along with the instrumentals. There’s definitely a formula being built at the start of the album for the rest of the tracks to follow, like “Emergency” which is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s incredible how mature the band’s sound is. Since day one they’ve had an idea that they’ve latched onto and honed expertly over the years. To me, “Emergency” is a great indication of what’s to come. The guitars just between hard riffs and plucking that gets stuck in your head. Again, Hayley’s vocals are again amazing. Her ability to be at the top of her lungs during to a softer and somewhat deeper tone is awesome. It shows her range but also has this confidence that she’s able to back up.
Consistently overachieiving
Jumping ahead we have “Here We Go Again” which is one of the more laid back tracks. The riffs and vocals are all here, but not at a ripping pace like the other tracks. It takes its time but still has quite a bit of punch to it. It’s one of the weaker tracks on the album, but that’s more a testament to the other tracks than a dig at “Here We Go Again”. The track shortly after, “Never Let This Go” starts off slow but then jumps into the chorus. Some of my favourite of Hayley’s vocals are on this track where she goes from this soft but striking tone to a loud bombastic attack in the chorus. Her vocal abilities are just incredible on this album. There’s not a single bad performance from her.
So far, the album has met up to Paramore’s reputation in terms of consistency. The half of the album is quite strong and has enough variety and change to keep it fresh, but the formula is clear at this point. The track “Conspiracy” maintains the momentum with the usual setup but with the drums driving the verses quite a bit more. It’s a sharp change, but really fits the track and allows for the chorus to have a huge swell of guitars. Also allowing for Hayley’s vocals to shine where she harmonizes along with the guitars. The drums kicking back in on the next verse brings a nice pace and setup to the track.
Straight forward album, but not simple
Lyrically the album is not groundbreaking but is serviceable. The hooks are catchy and the verses are melodramatic. It’s ironic as quite a bit of the songs ring through some nostalgia for the band which adds this bittersweet taste to the melodies.
The final song of the original track list, “Heart” is a perfect end to the album. At this point, the band are dialed in. We can hear the Paramore that is to come in their future albums the further you get. “Heart” is one of the more love sick songs on the album where Hayley and the instrumentals come together to confess to someone that her heart is only for her muse. The screaming vocals in the back during the outro adds this hurt and raw emotion to the track. It’s a great tune, and is a great send off.
The extras!
With this being a deluxe edition we get some extra songs. One of which is a remix of “Emergency” which is a fan favourite. It’s not totally different from the original, but the additions of screamo vocals helps bring this feeling of danger and urgency to the song. It’s a worthy addition to the track list. “O Star” is a more melodramatic track. I find Paramore are great at bring a soft and tender feeling to their songs that ultimately still feature killer riffs and astonishing vocals from Hayley. The guitars helps draw out this emotional side of the tracks that pairs perfectly with Hayley’s vocals. “Stuck On You” is to be honest one of the formulaic tracks on the album, but also has one of my favourite outros on the entire record. It’s actually a cover done by the band and was originally performed by Failure. Hayley’s layered vocals that bring this back and fort to the track help drive this argumentative end to the track. It just scratches an itch for me. Then we come to the final track of the deluxe edition with “This Circle” which closes the album out with a solid finish. Sticking to the recipe’s that the other songs of have laid out. There’s nothing too insane to point out here, other than the chorus and Hayley’s vocals bringing a satisfying close.
Overall
Throughout this review, it might seem as thought I’m not too bothered with some of the tracks or the album itself for that matter. That I find dissecting it down to the nitty gritty a chore or simply uninteresting. However, the simple truth of it is that it’s quite a simple and straight forward album and that’s what I really like about it.
They had a recipe for success. Hayley William’s is one of the best vocalists ever. Her voice alone carves an identity and sound for the band. Not to downplay past and present members of the bands contributions especially Taylor York and Zac Farro. York being the lead guitarist for the band the Farro being the drummer. They too have helped carve and conjure this unique and tantalizing sound. If anything, they’ve lifted Hayley’s vocals with some of the best and most exciting instrumentals I’ve heard on pop punk record.
“All We Know Is Falling” is not just a great debut, it’s a great album. It’s easy to listen to and doesn’t get bogged down by any flat performances or production. Which is insane to say about any band that’s just starting off, let alone a bunch of bloody teenagers. Hayley Williams was only 16 when the album came out, and Zac Farro was 15! To have this level of technical ability and maturity to create a consistent album like this is very rare.
“All We Know Is Falling” is a great album still to this day. It’s a product of it’s time in some ways, but in this case I think it adds to the experience as opposed to dragging it down.
