Paramore is an American rock band Headlined by Hayley Williams. Paramore has had a constant stream of members since its inception but the current members are guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. This is Paramore’s first album after a six year hiatus with their last album being after laughter. This is why is a mix of rock and pop.

The album opens with the massively popular title track This is Why, It’s a song that reminds me of the 80s with a dance feel. It reminds me of songs that Paramore has made in times past and I love it. The chorus is insanely catchy and is bound to be stuck in your head for ages. It’s a great way to start the album and makes the listener excited to hear what comes next.

The News is a Pop Punk song that brings Williams’ great vocal performance to the forefront of the song. The lyrics are a bit too on the nose with what they’re trying to say but it’s not to the point where it’s annoying. The instrumentals are nice, especially Zac’s drumming has been stuck in my head for a while. 

Running Out of Time is probably my least favorite song on the album it feels too similar to the first song. The lyrics again are too on point but they’re delivered with another excellent vocal performance from Williams who continues to impress again and again.

C’est Comme Ça definitely has the best instrumental by far, it’s incredibly catchy. Unfortunately, the vocal performances leave more to be desired. But overall it’s still a fun catchy song. It’s probably the least listenable song on the album with almost nothing new to come back to after a few listens.

Big Man, Little Dignity again is very on the nose with the message. It’s very clearly about a deadbeat guy. I wish Paramore would give more to process and think about with their lyrics although their straightforward lyrics do make the vibe of the song easy to connect with. This song also gets bonus points for having a flute solo at the end.

You First is definitely a punk inspired song with probably the best vocal performance on the album. The lyrics again aren’t interesting at all but the weirdest part of the song is a very short guitar solo that I wish was longer.

Figure 8 is another really good song with lots to come back to after you’ve finished the song. I notice something every time I listen to it whether it’s the harp or Farro’s amazing drums. This is definitely a slept on song on the album and I wish it could get more love.

Liar is a calmer song that slows down the album after the onslaught of energetic songs that came before and gets the listener ready for the last few songs on the album which are also slower. It’s a nice change of pace although there’s nothing really to write home about.

Crave is a shoegaze inspired song that gives the sense that the album is almost over and it feels somber reflecting on the songs that came before. This is the most unique sound they’ve gone for on the album although it definitely could have been done better.

The final song on the album is Thick Skull. The first half of the song is definitely inspired by phoebe bridgers until it turns into a 90s feeling grunge song. This song has two more short guitar solos but it feels like they connect the two sounds of the song.

Paramore’s This is why is a really fun comeback for the band. The album suffers from being very front loaded resulting in a pretty weak balk half. The album’s writing is definitely not its strong suit with some lyrics being eye rollers. The vocal talent is absolutely nothing to be scoffed at Williams proves again and again that she has some seriously good vocal chops. Her emotion bleeds through the speakers making the songs incredibly easy to attach to. The instrumentals are great York and Farro are seriously talented. If someone less confident than them would have taken their place this album would not be nearly as good. Paramore’s return was exciting proving the band still has a place in modern music and will continue to have staying power in the coming years. 7.5/10